Current Doctoral Students

Meet the students in the Religious Diversity in North America doctoral program. Learn more about their backgrounds, research interets, and what they are currently working on.

Malik Faisal Aslam

Faisal Aslam is a PhD student with a diverse academic background. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies and Geography, an MSc in Geography from the University of the Punjab, and an MA in Religion, Culture and Global Justice from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada.

For over two decades, Malik has been dedicated to community service, focusing on education, women's empowerment, and improving the quality of life for seniors.

His research investigates the extent to which different Islamic hermeneutic practices can influence the application of Islamic juristic laws. Additionally, he explores how these practices can impact ideological conflicts related to feminism, LGBTQ issues, religious minority rights, and Islamophobia.

Supervisor: Dr. Ali Zaidi

Azmat Abbas Butt

PhD Candidate

MA (Political Science, Punjab University, Pakistan); MBA-HRM (PIMSAT Pakistan); MA (Religion, Culture and Global Justice, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2019)

Azmat’s research investigates the growing impact of anti-blasphemy ideologies on the Pakistani diaspora in Canada and the challenges to freedom of expression, multiculturalism, social integration, and national security. After completing fieldwork in Pakistan and North America, Azmat is currently in the dissertation writing stage.

Supervisor: Dr. Ali Hassan Zaidi

Douglas Clarke

PhD Student

Degrees

PhD- Religious Studies (In Progress) Wilfrid Laurier University

MTS- Theological Studies- Conrad Grebel University College (University of Waterloo)

MA- Social Justice and Equity Studies- Brock University

MA- Philosophy- Wilfrid Laurier University

BA- Philosophy/Classics- Wilfrid Laurier University

Certificates

Thanatology (Death and Dying) – Conestoga College Distance Learning

Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers- Certified Sommelier- Niagara College

My interests are varied and focus on issues of race and racism, especially as they are expressed in art and visual culture. I have a strong focus on popular culture and the way that mythology and folklore continue to be articulated in visual media. I currently work within the field of Caribbean religions, looking at images of death spirits in Haitian Vodou and beyond. I am interested in how images of the figure Baron Samedi continue to be recycled in popular visual culture and what this can say about his symbolic value and meaning as a respected and important spiritual figure in his native religious context. When I am not studying the confluence of visual culture, folklore, and the religious imagination, I am often studying wine, spirits, and all things hospitality.

Supervisor: Dr. Carol Duncan

Zahra Jafer

PhD Student

Honours BA., 2016 (Conflict Studies; University of Ottawa & Saint Paul University); M.A, 2019 (Conflict Studies; University of Ottawa & Saint Paul University)

Research interests: Religion, History, Interfaith dialogue, Lived religion, Intersectionality, Post-colonial theory.

Zahra’s research focuses on complex religious experiences of affiliated minority groups in North America, and their challenges to maintain an equilibrium of faith and modernity within the context of ‘double consciousness’. Her fieldwork will include a series of comprehensive interviews with several affiliates from various religious groups in Eastern Ontario, which will examine dimensions of their relationship towards faith, identity, institution and community.

Supervisor: Dr. Abderrahman Beggar

Sahver Kuzucuoglu 

 

PhD Candidate

B.Sc. (University of Waterloo); M.A. (Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University); M.A. (Cultural Analysis and Social Theory, Wilfrid Laurier University)

Sahver Kuzucuoglu holds a Masters Degree in Religion and Culture, a second MA in Cultural Analysis and Social Theory, and is currently a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Sahver has worked for many years as an Interpreter/Translator in the settlement of new Canadians in Southern Ontario fueled by her passion for volunteerism, multiculturalism, community, decoloniality, pluraversality, and intercultural dialogue. Her current research areas include Turkish Cultural Studies, Sufi Studies, Islam in North America, Multiculturalism, and the identity negotiation of the ‘minority within a minority.’

Supervisor: Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk

Xochi Luna Morales

PhD Candidate

Xochiquetzal Luna Morales is a Doctoral Candidate in Religious Diversity in North America at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she also completed a master’s degree in Religion, Culture, and Global Justice. Luna Morales previously obtained a doctoral and a master’s degree in Journalism from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia. Her current research focuses on exploring the intersection of media and religion, specifically Catholic Faith-Based Organizations and journalism in Mexico and Russia.

Supervisor: Dr. Edmund Pries

Kaitlin McCartney

PhD Candidate

Honours BA, 2013: Religion and Culture; English, Wilfrid Laurier University & Philipps-Universität Marburg
Post Graduate Diploma in Education, 2015: The University of the West of Scotland
MEd, 2018: Wilfrid Laurier University

Research Interests: Islam, Christianity, religious conversion, Muslim identity, interfaith dialogue, lived religion, Canadian religious landscape.

Kate's research delves into the complex experiences of religious conversion, specifically focusing on individuals who have converted from Christianity to Islam. Her work explores how these individuals navigate and negotiate their faith, identity, and social relationships within the Canadian context. By examining the lived religious experiences of individuals who have embraced Islam, Kate aims to explore the personal and social dynamics that influence their spiritual journeys. Kate is working on her dissertation, which explores these themes and contributes to a deeper understanding of religious conversion, interfaith dynamics, and Islam’s place in a contemporary and multicultural society.

Supervisor: Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk

Hajrah Mumtaz

PhD Student

MA (English Literature, 1997, PU); MA (Anthropology of the Media, 2003, SOAS); MA (Religion, Culture and Global Justice, 2023, WLU).

With an extensive background in print journalism, Hajrah’s research interests lie in forms of ‘colonisations’, violence, and ideology-driven contestations over space and identities, explored through the lens of dystopian pop-culture.

Supervisor: Dr. Abderrahman Beggar