IslamicASA brings together independent scholars, community historians, collectors, educators, and institutional allies committed to preserving the documentary history of Islam and Muslims in the Americas.
Founding Advisory Board Member
Yusuf Nuruddin
Independent Scholar, Educator, and Bibliophile
Yusuf Nuruddin is a Brooklyn-bred independent scholar whose work has explored African-American Muslim identity, Islamic intellectual traditions, religion, culture, and history in the United States.
Founder
Philip Thorne
Founder, Islamic Antiquarian Society of the Americas
Philip Thorne is an independent researcher, collector, media producer, and founder of IslamicASA. His work focuses on recovering scattered historical sources that document Islam and Muslims throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Purpose of the Advisory Board
The Advisory Board provides guidance to the Islamic Antiquarian Society of the Americas as it grows into a more formal research and archival institution. Advisors may help identify sources, review research directions, recommend institutional contacts, strengthen scholarly standards, and support the long-term preservation of materials relating to Islam and Muslims in the Americas.
The board is intended to bring together individuals with experience in history, archives, Islamic studies, manuscript culture, genealogy, museum work, librarianship, publishing, philanthropy, education, and related fields.
Areas of Guidance
- Historical research and source evaluation
- Archives, manuscripts, printed works, ephemera, and audiovisual collections
- Editorial review, publications, and scholarly standards
- Institutional partnerships and research collaborations
- Collection acquisition, digitization, and preservation priorities
- Public education and community-facing historical interpretation
Advisory Role
Advisory Board participation is intended to be consultative rather than administrative. Advisors are not expected to manage daily operations, assume legal responsibility for the organization, or approve every publication. Their role is to strengthen IslamicASA’s research, credibility, institutional relationships, and long-term development.