@determann
Historian at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Associate Editor, Review of Middle East Studies. Book Review Editor, Journal of Arabian Studies. Author of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy." https://vcu.academia.edu/Determann
✨ WGSN 2025 report published!
IAU Working Group on Star Names report now in JAHH 28(4), 1026–1038.
New research on historical & Indigenous star names.
Thanks to Susanne M. Hoffmann & Jörg M. Determann and to the editorial team of JAHH.
🔗 doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames
On the heels of the completion of the annual report of our @iau-wgsn.bsky.social, I am delighted that the paper with our research finds has been published. You can find them on pages 1026–38 of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (JAHH) 28, no. 4 (December 2025). doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...
A heaven full of gratitude to everyone who volunteers their services to @iau-wgsn.bsky.social. @susanne-m-hoffmann.bsky.social, our Chair, uploaded our Annual Report for 2025, of which she, Clive Ruggles and I are the main authors. exopla.net/star-names/g...
Thanks are four years overdue to Arif Babul. Back in February 2022, he published a review of my @ibtauris.bsky.social book Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life in The Observatory 142, no. 1286. Arif wrote that my “survey is impressively comprehensive.” www.obsmag.org/issues/publi...
Felicidades and congratulations, gracias and thank you to @pascalin.unam.social.ap.brid.gy ! I congratulate him on winning the inaugural ISHPSSB Community Award. Among other roles, David has served as the editor of the ISHPSSB Newsletter since 2011. www.ishpssb.org/news/newslet...
More than a few thank-yous to everyone who made the Horizon Hub Workshop 2026 on “The Role of Data Storytelling and Generative AI in Progressive Education” an extraordinary success! Special thanks go to Mohamed Mahgoub for moderating my panel. sites.google.com/view/horizon...
Thank you, mamnounak (ممنونك) and merci to Jad Tayah for welcoming me as a panelist within the Horizon Hub Workshop Series 2026. Organized by Hamad Bin Khalifa University, it has the theme “The Role of Data Storytelling and Generative AI in Progressive Education.” sites.google.com/view/horizon...
Do you use Canva? Would you like to meet members of its senior leadership, including Ahmad Iqbal? If so, please join the Canva Focus Group at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in room 216, today, February 1, 2026. I thank our @petergouldart.bsky.social for facilitating this connection.
Muslim Futures : ACGIS Annual Conference 2026
u. a. mit Jörg Matthias Determann @determann.bsky.social
islamicstudiescenter.gmu.edu/events/17717
I owe a large debt of gratitude to Sumaiya Hamdani for inviting me to speak at the conference of the AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at @georgemasonu.bsky.social on Muslim Futures on April 16 and 17, 2026. I also thank @pmandaville.bsky.social islamicstudiescenter.gmu.edu/events/17717
Un grand merci and a big thank you to Kevin Kaiser and Aaron Wright for allowing me to contribute to issue 107 of Communiqué, the magazine of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS): “Preserving the History of Women’s Activism in Science.” cshps.ca/wp-content/u...
Thank you for everything and ہر چیز کے لئے آپ کا شکریہ, @fouzsiddiqui.bsky.social ! I am deeply indebted to you and your colleagues at Scientia, and especially Saadeqa Khan, for organizing our webinar on activism in astronomy and for uploading a recording to YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Nf...
Kathar Allah Khayrak (كثر الله خيرك) and may God multiply your blessings, @emadscifi.bsky.social ky.social! Thank you for reviewing Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life (@ibtauris.bsky.social) on The Liberum. theliberum.com/hotels-in-he...
I can’t thank you enough (میں آپ کا جتنا شکر ادا کروں کم), @fouzsiddiqui.bsky.social, for bringing me back as a speaker for Scientia’s Science Writing Internship. I will talk about Writing about Activism in Astronomy. I thank Saadeqa Khan for making this possible. meet.google.com/yti-zrpw-agm
I thank you from the bottom of my heart (أَشْكُرُكَ مِنْ أَعْمَاقِ قَلْبِي), Moe Abbas, for inviting me back as a guest speaker to the Astronomy Camp at New York University Abu Dhabi! On January 21, 2026, I will give a Zoom lecture on “Muslim Cultures and Extraterrestrial Life.” nyuad.nyu.edu/en/events/20...
I am extremely grateful to you (أَنَا مُمْتَــنٌّ لَكَ للغَايَةِ), @amr-rageh.bsky.social, for interviewing me via email for an investigative piece on the Gulf for @scidevnet.bsky.social. I am also very thankful to Bothina Osama for supporting Amr’s investigation. www.scidev.net/mena/scidev-...
Thank you so much, @tironstefan.bsky.social ! This is fascinating. I am deeply grateful that you are thinking of me.
Another issue of the Journal of Arabian Studies is out, another round of thanks is in order. I thank everyone who contributed book reviews to vol. 15, no. 1. They are @alsarihi.bsky.social, @brianjulrich.bsky.social, Christian Henderson, Luc Chantre, and others. www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjab20/1...
An astronomical amount of gratitude to Sherry Cady for publishing our “Communicating Discoveries in the Search for Life in the Universe Workshop Report” in Astrobiology 25, no. 11! I am infinitely thankful to @jordanbimm.bsky.social and Mary Voytek for leading our initiative. doi.org/10.1177/1531...
Let me give a big thank you to Gloria McMillan for hosting me on the Tucson Hard-Science SF Zoom (THSSFZ) on November 1, 2025. I was very honored to speak about “Science Fiction and Astrobiology in the Muslim World” as part of the Forry Ackerman Memorial series. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PL9...
I am asking Gloria McMillan to accept my deep gratitude for inviting me to speak about “Science Fiction and Astrobiology in the Muslim World” at the Hard-Science SF Zoom on November 1, 2025. I am very grateful to @emadscifi.bsky.social for introducing me to Glo. us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Mil gracias and a thousand thanks to Fernanda Castaño of Prêt-a-Portrait for taking school photographs of my daughter Maria! If the pictures show her as thriving, it is due to the teachers she has had at home, at Doha English Speaking School and previously at Kanga’s Pouch. info.pret-a-portrait.net
Congratulations, Glückwunsch and مبروك to Amin Elfeshawi on successfully defending his dissertation on “The Individual between Jihadism and Islam Hadhari” at @univie.ac.at! Anja Zalta, Yavuz Köse, Rüdiger Lohlker and I had the privilege of asking him questions. utheses.univie.ac.at/detail/70191/
A big round of thank-yous to all who attended the October Colloquium of the Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS). I thoroughly enjoyed talking about “UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World” on Google Meet. A recording is now available on the SUAPS YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EHF...
My friend and collaborator Shoaib Ahmed Malik and I are enormously thankful to Ted Peters of the Graduate Theological Union for his continued interest in, and support of, our work. Ted wrote a post on “Islamic Theology Meets ETI” for his Substack blog. tedp.substack.com/p/islamic-th...
Thank you and يعطيك العافية (literally “may He give you health”) to everyone who contributed to making the celebration of World Space Week at Al Thuraya Planetarium a great success! Khalid Al-Sayed presented my fellow lecturers and me with trophies on October 7, 2025. qna.org.qa/en/News-Area...
May God bless you and بارك الله فيك, Rashid Ali Al Kubaisi, for enabling me to give a presentation as part of World Space Week at the Al Thuraya Planetarium in Katara on October 6, 2025. If you want to zoom into my slides, please go to Prezi: prezi.com/view/oToqbmd...
A round of thank yous to everyone who participated in the LinkedIn workshop led by Jacqulyn Williams and me in the Library at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar on September 30, 2025. Based on the success of this event, we plan to offer part 2 later this month. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
As long as I live, I will be indebted to you (من تا عمر دارم مدیون شما هستم), Parviz Tarikhi. Thank you for evaluating my @ibtauris.bsky.social book, Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 52, no. 4 (2025) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
My great pleasure, @simonwfuchs.bsky.social ! I greatly enjoyed reading your book. It is a wonderful collection of essays. Congratulations to you and everyone involved in the making of this excellent edited volume!