Support the Institute for Muslim Advancement and Renewal
The Institute for Muslim Advancement and Renewal (IMAR) exists to bring serious scholarship, Islamic thought, and diverse disciplines into conversation with the questions shaping American society. We believe Muslims should not only respond to public debates after they happen. We should help produce the ideas, research, and moral frameworks that shape those conversations in the first place.
IMAR brings together scholars, faith leaders, practitioners, writers, and community members to study major social questions and translate that work into publications, public conversations, educational resources, and meaningful partnerships.We are building an institution for the long term and we invite you to help build it.
Why IMAR?
America faces difficult questions about mental health, political leadership, family, healthcare, economics, technology, community, and a plethora of pertinent issues.These questions are generally discussed within separate worlds. Academics speak to academics. Faith communities speak primarily within their own communities. Practitioners focus on immediate problems. Public discourse moves quickly from one controversy to another. IMAR creates a space where these worlds can meet.
Our work begins with serious inquiry. Each year, we select an important social question and bring Islamic intellectual traditions into conversation with contemporary scholarship, professional expertise, lived experience, and other faith and moral traditions. The goal is not simply to produce another conference or publication, rather we seek to contribute ideas that can shape how people understand the problems before us and how communities respond to them.
What We Built in 2026
In 2026, IMAR's annual inquiry examined mental health as it has developed into an industry and built upon a series of assumptions and overextensions. Contributors explored questions surrounding wellness, suffering, trauma, therapeutic culture, community care and our understanding of the self. The work culminated in the first volume of IMAR's journal and. shaped our inaugural symposium which brought together voices from psychology, clinical practice, Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions, education, and community leadership. The symposium accompanied IMAR's annual publication and helped move the research beyond the page into serious public conversation.
Our 2027 Inquiry
Our next annual inquiry asks a different but equally important question. How are political leaders formed? Public conversations about politics often focus on elections, candidates, parties, and policies. IMAR's 2027 research moves one step earlier. Before someone becomes a public leader, who shaped them?What formed their understanding of power and responsibility? What role did families, communities, mentors, institutions, faith, ambition, education, and political networks play? How should communities identify, cultivate, support, and hold leaders accountable? What happens when political systems reward qualities very different from those communities hope their leaders will possess?
The Anatomy of Leadership will bring together scholars and practitioners from political science, Islamic studies, history, psychology, sociology, ethics, leadership studies, and other fields and faith traditions to examine the formation of individual political leaders. The project will include IMAR's 2027 publication, public conversations, educational media, and our annual symposium.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Scholars and Writers
Honoraria, research support, emerging scholars, editing, and the development of serious original work.
Publications
Editing, design, printing, distribution, and making scholarship accessible beyond academic settings.
Public Symposia
Venues, speakers, travel, media production, accessibility, and programming that brings different communities into conversation.
Public Scholarship
Podcasts, lectures, videos, research briefs, educational resources, and digital content that translate serious ideas for wider audiences.
Partnerships
Collaboration with universities, faith communities, researchers, civic institutions, practitioners, and community organizations.
Institutional Capacity
The behind-the-scenes infrastructure that allows IMAR to research, publish, convene, build partnerships, and plan for the future.
The IMAR Funders' Circle
IMAR is building a small community of individuals and families who believe serious Muslim intellectual institutions are necessary for the future. Members of the IMAR Funders' Circle provide flexible support that allows IMAR to pursue important questions even when those questions do not fit neatly within a traditional grant program.
Founding Member
$1,000 annually
Founding Partner
$2,500 annually
Founding Patron
$5,000 annually
Founding Benefactor
$10,000+ annually
Choose the level that reflects your commitment, and be sure to adjust the quantity (not the dollar amount) in the box. To discuss joining the IMAR Funders' Circle, please email us at [email protected].
For example: selecting a quantity of 1 equals $5 for the Patron tier.