The Project on Palestine Studies

Launch & Vision

Since October 2023, the genocidal war waged on Palestine has been a major point of focus for Muslim communities across the globe. Many communities have risen up to protest the injustice wrought against Palestinians, both within settler colonies like the US and Canada that are actively complicit in the genocide, as well as in countries across the post-colonial world who are protesting in solidarity. Across each of these contexts, states and anti-Palestinian actors alike have enacted new and old forms of oppression in order to silence these calls for justice. Such actions include mobilizing tools of state surveillance against Muslim communities reminiscent of the post-9/11 era, rising acts of Islamophobia at the popular level, and the proliferation of media discourses that dehumanize and conflate Palestinians and Muslims alike.

It is clear that the subject of Palestine and how institutions treat inquiry of and advocacy for it is emblematic of the larger array of forces that marginalize Muslim communities across the globe.

It is for this reason that the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies is pleased to announce the launch of our new Project on Palestine Studies. This dedicated project -- the first of its kind at CCMS -- is geared to expand the programming on the history, present, and future of Palestine here at SFU, bringing in a multiplicity of disciplines, local and international scholars, and resources in order to accomplish its mandate.

The PPS will house a number of components in order to support the numerous facets of Palestine Studies, including Pedagogical Engagement, an Events Series, a Resource Library, and a Scholarship Program. Read more about these components below.

If you would like the support the Project on Palestine Studies, get in contact with us at ccms@sfu.ca. We are looking for community partners, funders, and are open to collaborations of all stripes. We look forward to offering these resources to the community.