CO-SPONSORSHIP: African Religions Unit and South Asian Religions Unit

African and South Asian Religions

African and South Asian religions have been engaged in dialogue and exchange for centuries—yet their historical and present interconnectedness remains a lacuna in Euro-American academic scholarship. This panel attempts to rectify this omission by bringing together the work of scholars of African and South Asian religions. Studying African and South Asian traditions in tandem promises not only to bring new insight into each area of focus, but also to offer an occasion for reconsidering the foundational question of what defines a tradition as ‘African,’ ‘South Asian,’ or both. We welcome submissions on the history of Hindu and South Asian Muslim communities in Africa; the history of African Muslim communities in South Asia (such as the siddi community); contemporary interactions between African and South Asian religious communities; and the question of where the boundary lies between African and South Asian traditions in those contexts where the two coexist. This panel will be co-sponsored by the African Religions Unit and South Asian Religions Unit.