ACADEMIC AWARDS of Dr. Ahrar Ahmad

• Voted by students to be Campus Dad for Homecoming Celebrations, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2009 at Black Hills State University (BHSU)
• Elected by the Student Senate as “Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year” 2001 – 2002
• Recognized as one of two Outstanding Educators of the Year by United Ministries, BHSU, for promoting inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding, March, 2004
• Received the “Distinguished Faculty of the Year Award” awarded by the Faculty Senate, BHSU, 2007-8
• Received Senior Fulbright Award for teaching and research in Bangladesh, 2007-8
• Received the Professor of the Year Award for the State of South Dakota administered by the Carnegie Foundation (CASE Award) 2007-8
• Received the Outstanding Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement Award, College of Liberal Arts, BHSU, 2013-14, and from the entire University in 2014-15

INVITED LECTURES/KEYNOTE ADDRESSES of Ahrar Ahmad

 

• “The World Has Changed: Are You Ready?” Keynote speech at a conference on International Education, John A. Logan College, Illinois, Nov 17, 2003

• “When Multiculturalism Becomes Hate?” Keynote speech at a conference and daylong academic activities at Carroll College, Montana, Oct 12, 2004

 

• “Islam and the Prospects of Peace in the Middle East”, invited speaker at the Truman Anniversary Conference, Key West, Florida, May 2005 later included in a book published by the Truman University Library Press

 

• “Islam, Tolerance and Social Justice” Invited speaker in a panel on Religion and Progressive Politics, University of California, Berkeley, July 25, 2005, organized by Tikkun (journal edited by Rabbi Michael Lerner)

• “Islam as a Part of the Interfaith Effort for World Peace” address in prayer meeting at Lafayette Park (in front of the White House) organized by the Network of Spiritual Progressives, May 17, 2006

 

• “Contemporary Issues and the Challenges Ahead” Convocation address, Russell Sage College, New York, September 15, 2006

• “The Holy Quran – Text and Context” Distinguished speaker series, Iowa Wesleyan College, November 8, 2006

 

• “Politics in the Middle East: Historical Perspectives, Political Implications” Annual Speaker, World Council of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, Brookings, Feb 7, 2007

• “Political Engagement of American Muslims” annual distinguished public lecture series of the Independent University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, November 2007

 

• “How Are the Principles of US Democracy Relevant to Dealing with the Middle East”, Annual Constitution Day lecture, John A. Logan College, September 17, 2009

 

• “US Democracy and the Muslim World” Annual Chiesman lecture to mark the Constitution Day , Black Hills State University, September 17, 2008

• “Muslims in the US” annual public lecture open to the school and community, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology” March 16, 2009

• Commencement address, graduation ceremonies, Black Hills State Univ., May 9, 2009

• Was invited to speak at Augustana College, and SDHC, in Sioux Falls, to introduce the Director of the National Endowment of the Humanities, and to speak on “Current Issues in US relationship with Middle Eastern Countries” Sept. 15-16, 2011

• Spoke on The Children of Abraham, invited lecture by the South Dakota Humanities Council, at South Dakota State University, Brookings, November 2013

 

• “What it Means to be an American”, invited lecture for new immigrants at their swearing-in ceremony, Federal Court House, Rapid City, June, 2009

•      Invited by Oxford University, UK,  to presented a paper in the Roundtable on “Terrorism” (in which scholars from 7 countries had been invited) July 18-23, 2010

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP of Ahrar Ahmad

BOOKS

~ Navine Murshed, Akhlaque Haque, Ahrar Ahmad eds. Governance and the Governed: Development and Democracy in Bangladesh (Dhaka: The University Press, 2017forthcoming).

~Ahrar Ahmad. Judaism, Christianity, Islam: An Introduction (Rapid City: Chiesman Foundation, 2017 forthcoming)

~ Robert C. Oberst et. al. Government and Politics in South Asia (Boulder: Westview Press, 2014).  I am one of the authors in the latest (7^th) edition of this standard text

~ Farida Khan, Munir Quddus, Ahrar Ahmad eds. NGOs and Bangladesh: Recreating the Commons? (Dhaka: The University Press, 2009).

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS by Ahrar Ahmad

~ “Bangladesh in 2013: Year of Confusions, Confrontations, Concerns” Asian Survey 54:1 (January-February, 2014, published by University of California, Berkeley) pp. 190-198

~ “Indo-Bangladesh Relations – A Long View” Journal of the Foreign Policy Research Center, New Delhi, no. 16 (Dec 2013).  This was an invited paper in a fully peer-reviewed e-journal (around 3500 words)

~ “Bangladesh in 2012: Economic Growth, Political Under-development” Asian Survey (53:1, March 2013, published by the University of California, Berkeley) pp. 73-83

~ Munir Quddus, Farida Khan and Ahrar Ahmad, eds. Micro-finance and its Evolution: New Findings and Debates published as a special issue of the Journal of Bangladesh Studies (Erie, Pennsylvania, June, 2012)

~ “Commentary” on a lead article on “Good Governance” written by Dr. Abul Muhith, (Currently Finance Minister, Government of Bangladesh), published in Journal of Bangladesh Studies (8:1) 2006, pp. 29-33

~ “Warraq’s War: A Critical Review” American Journal of Islamic Social Science: Special Issue on Neo-Orientalism and Islamophobia After 9/11 21:3 (Summer 2004) pp. 120-130

~ “Islam and Democracy: Text, Tradition, History” American Journal of Islamic Social Science  20:1 (Winter 2003) pp. 20-45

~ “Bangladesh Between Promise and Reality:  Current Tendencies and Theoretical Explorations” Journal of Bangladesh Studies (III:1) 2001 pp. 1-10.  An expanded version was re-published in Ashraf Ali and Saad Andaleeb eds. Development Issues in Bangladesh II (Dhaka: The University Press, 2003) pp. 41-69

~ “Indo-Bangladesh Relations:  Context, Concerns, Hopes (A Review Essay)” Journal of Bangladesh Studies (II: 1, 2000) pp 22-30 reprinted (in a slightly revised form) in Syed Saad Andaleeb, ed. Political Culture in Bangladesh: Perspectives and Analysis  (Dhaka: University Press Ltd, 2007) pp. 289-304

~ “The State, Participation and Constitutionalism, Political Crises and Democracy in India” Asian Affairs:  An American Review (XXVI: 3, Fall 1999) pp. 123-36

~ “Marx and the Third World:  A Critique Based on His Writings on India” International Third World Studies Journal and Review (Vol. 10, 1999) pp. 27-35

~ “Analyzing Pre-colonial South Asia:  Mode of Production or Proto-industrialisation?” Journal of Contemporary Asia (XXVII:3, 1997) pp. 315-337

~ “A Skeptic’s Return:  Reflections on Faculty Development” Faculty Development:  The Collaboration for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (X:1, Fall 1996) pp. 6-7, 12

BOOK CHAPTERS, ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES of Ahrar Ahmad

~ “Reform – South Asia” in Martin, Richard ed. Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2014).  My original essay was published in 2003 and I was requested to revise and update it for the new edition of the Encyclopedia in 2014.  Originally approximately 1500 words, currently around 2250

~ “India and Bangladesh Need Bridges not Walls Between Themselves” in ABC-CLIO Enduring Questions Series, e-book http://worldgeography2.abc-clio.com/Ideas 2014 (around 3250 words)

~ “War and Peace in South Dakota” in Jon Lauck, John Miller, and Don Simmons eds. The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture (Pierre: State Historical Society Press, 2011), pp. 186-210

~ “Bangladeshi Immigrants” in Ron Bayor ed. Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing, 2011) pp. 109-147

~ Contributed the following articles to the International Encyclopedia of World History (Santa Barbara, CA, ABC-CLIO Publishers, 2011.  This is a multi-volume publication)

–              “India’s Textiles: Peasant Weaving and the Rise of Capitalism”  vol. 12, pp. 535-536

–              “Syncretic Monotheism Under Akbar the Great” vol 14, pp. 868-869

–              “The Indian Mutiny”  vol 14 pp. 577-578

–              “Urbanization in Early Modern India”  vol 11, pp. 153-154

–              “The Mughals in India” (with Jeffrey Diamond) vol 11, pp. 404-406

–              “The Aligarh Movement”  vol 15, pp. 883-884

–              “The Faraizi Movement” vol 15, pp. 884-885

~ Munir Quddus, Ahrar Ahmad, Farida Khan “An Introduction to NGOs in Bangladesh” in Khan, Quddus and Ahmad eds. NGOs and Bangladesh: Recreating the Commons? (Dhaka: University Press Ltd, 2009) pp. 3-25

~ “Islam and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East” in Michael Devine, Robert Watson and Robert Wolz ed. Truman and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East (Kirksville, MO: Truman University Press, 2008) pp. 60-70

~ “Bangladesh” in Karl deRouen and Paul Bellamy, eds. International Security and the United States (Westport, Conn: Praeger Security International series, in conjunction with Greenwood Press, 2008) pp. 83-101

~ “Muslim Groups and American Foreign Policy” in Mohsen Saleh and Ishtiaq Hosain eds. Interest Groups and the Formulation of US Foreign Policy (Beirut: Al  Zaytuna Press, 2009)  pp. 173-194

~ “George McGovern and the Food for Peace: Context and Consequence” in Robert Watson, ed. George McGovern:  A Political Life, A Political Legacy (Pierre:  The South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2004) pp. 68-91

~ “The Centrality of the State in the Political Economy of Bangladesh” in Ashraf Ali, F. Islam and R. Kuddus eds. Development Issues of Bangladesh (Dhaka:  The University Press Ltd., 1996) pp 167-181

MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS of Ahrar Ahmad

~ “Razzak Sir: Anti-hero, Mentor” in Anisuzzaman ed. Gyantaposh Abdur Razzak (Dhaka: Bengal Publications, 2012) pp. 282-292.

~ “Begum Sufia Kamal in 1971: The Poet at War” in Anisuzzaman et.al. eds Begum Sufia Kamal: Smarok Grantha (Dhaka: Sahitya Prakasak, 2012) pp. 442-449

~ “Islam and South Asia: Intellectual and Historical Forces in the Construction of Democratic Alternatives” (a monograph published by the Chiesman Foundation, Rapid City, 2006) pp 1-55

~ “Islam and Democracy: Sworn Enemies or Misunderstood Partners” (monograph published by the Chiesman Foundation, Rapid City, 2000) pp. 1-49

~ “Democracy in India: Problems and Prospects” (published by the Chiesman Foundation, Rapid City, 1998) pp. 1-55

OTHER ACADEMIC INVOLVEMENTS of Ahrar Ahmad

~ Reviewed at least 40 books (mostly in various journals, though some in more popular platforms such as newspapers)

~ Reviewed at least 20 articles for publication in international journals, and at least 7 book manuscripts for international publishing houses (e.g., University of Toronto Press, Palgrave MacMillan, Sage, Rowman and Littlefield, University Press Ltd (Bangladesh) and so on

~ Presented at least 25 papers in professional conferences, and served as Chair and Discussant in many others

~ Made more than 75 invited presentations to various groups and organizations locally, regionally and nationally