Congratulations to Dr. Bashir Mundi who completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Kenneth Honerkamp in Spring 2024. Bashir Mundi’s dissertation explored counter-narratives to the violent extremist terrorist movement, the Boko Haram, which has waged a full-scale insurgency against the Nigerian government since 2009. His research highlighted a triangular approach based on the objectives of Islamic law, source principles of Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic legal maxims. In addition, he examines the impact of socio-economic factors that enable recruitments to such violent extremist movements. His classes on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have been highly popular with University of Georgia students. Bashir will be working with the West Cobb Islamic Center as Resident Imam. He continues as a Board member of the Development Initiative of West Africa (DIWA), the Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa (ALIWA), Inspire Academy, Abuja, and as a Director with Rha Leadership Consulting. Bashir looks forward to further research and production on the history of Islam and Muslims in the Americas, following an earlier documentary on the history of Bilali Muhammad and the community of enslaved Muslims on the Reynolds plantation on Sapelo Island, near Savannah, Georgia. As a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa, Bashir has been a leading voice, especially on Islamic perspectives on social, political, and interfaith issues. As a Resnick Scholar, he has been a speaker at the annual Resnick Aspen Action Forum at the Aspen Institute, Colorado. He has presented at several interfaith conferences, universities, multi-religious institutions throughout the USA and Nigeria, and at seminars on Islam and Dialogue for Peaceful Coexistence and Leadership, in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Bashir has anchored “Your American Muslim Neighbor” on Chicago’s CAN-TV, and the “Interfaith Forum” on the African Independent Television (AIT). He is a public commentator on Nigerian socio-economic and political issues, having aspired to the Federal House of Representatives in 2015.
