Butheina Hamdah

Butheina Hamdah is a third-year PhD student, Graduate Teaching Assistant, and a Columbian Distinguished Fellow in American Studies. She holds an M.A. in Political Science (2017) and Sociology (2021), as well as a B.A. in Political Science with Honors (2012) from the University of Toledo. Butheina’s interests broadly encompass the intricate interplay between Muslim communal life and American sociopolitical, cultural, gendered, and religious structures. These interests have been shaped by her experiences living and working in Turkey, Bahrain, Palestine, and Jordan, as well as her involvement in leadership and research roles within American Muslim institutions.

Butheina’s doctoral fields of specialization include gender and political economy in the modern United States, Islam and the secular, and American Islam. In prior research, Butheina examined how national Muslim institutional leaders in the U.S. navigate concepts of American exceptionalism and civil religion. Her academic contributions have earned recognition in publications such as The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor and have been presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association and the Association for the Sociology of Religion. She also serves as an editor and writer for Muftah Magazine.