Mohamud Awil Mohamed

My research lies at the intersection of religion, ethics, and collective memory. My current project examines the interplay between sharīʿah and customary law (xeer) in Bilād al-Ṣūmāl—an expansive region historically encompassing present-day Somalia, Djibouti, Eastern Ethiopia, and Kenya's Northern Frontier District. I investigate the dynamics of anathematization, creedal factionalism and fluidity, as well as the tensions within and beyond the religious elite who dominate this discourse.

In addition, I explore the development, trajectory, and afterlives of Salafism in Bilād al-Ṣūmāl, focusing on its intersections with local traditions, religious discourse, political economy and transnational education. My work also examines the contestation of sacred spaces, particularly debates over the permissibility of venerating graves, tombs, and shrines associated with scholars, mystics, and tribal or clan leaders, as a lens for understanding broader negotiations of religious authority.

I have received extensive training in traditional madarasa settings and I have continue to pursue advanced Islamic studies in Morocco, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia. My Islamic learning spans classical and contemporary scholarship, with a particular focus on ḥadīth studies, Shāfiʿī legal theory, and Islamic historiography. Through a FLAS Fellowship at Maʿhad al-Lugha al-ʿArabiyyah in Fes, Morocco, I continued my studies and examined the intellectual contributions of the 5th-century Mālikī polymath Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī (d. 474 AH) alongside the thought of Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman, studying legal-ethical principles and their articulation across different historical and cultural contexts.

I hold a BA in History from Augsburg University and an MA in Heritage Studies and Public History from the University of Minnesota. During my graduate training, I was an Andrew W. Mellon Graduate Fellow, conducting research on fatāwā addressing the emergence of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic under the mentorship of Dr. Hassan Abdelsalam. Additionally, I worked as a Graduate Fellow with the Islamic Cataloging team at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, archiving East African manuscripts under the guidance of Dr. Josh Mugler. I also served as a Digital Humanities and Oral Histories Fellow with the University of Minnesota Libraries and the MN Transform team. 

In my free time, I am a translator of classical Islamic texts and Somali poetry.

Advisors: Dr. Lee V. Cassanelli (HIST), Dr. Paul Cobb (NELC), Dr. Eve Troutt Powell (HIST)