Danke noch einmal and thanks again to Rüdiger Lohlker for asking me to examine a doctoral dissertation by one of his students at @univie.ac.at! He entrusted me with grading Amin Elfeshawi’s thesis “The Individual between Jihadism and Islam Hadhari.” ssc-philkultur.univie.ac.at/studium/dokt...

Once again, I express thanks to the staff of the Humanities Research Center at Virginia Commonwealth University for allowing me to give a book talk within the Meet VCU Authors series. @cstanciu2025.bsky.social kindly introduced me and my presentation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sih...

May God reward you (جزاك الله خيراً), Rashid Ali Al Kubaisi, for inviting me to collaborate with you on the organization of a children’s workshop at Al Thuraya Planetarium in Katara as part of World Space Week. althuraya.katara.net

Attention students of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar! Our Libraries offer you an exclusive LinkedIn Workshop. I thank Jacqulyn Williams very much for inviting me to join her in leading this session in our Library Conference Room (106i) on Tuesday, September 30. forms.gle/gxKzCwnJnCva...

I am euphoric in my gratitude to Michael Cifone for inviting me to give a colloquium for the Society for UAP Studies. On October 3, 2025, I will explore UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World. Adam Dodd kindly arranged my talk. www.societyforuapstudies.org/event-detail...

I am truly grateful to Peter Gould and Rehan Khan for featuring a testimonial of mine on the Tales of Khayaal website. My review is in the company of endorsements by Aqsa Khan, David Williamson, Lamya Tawfik, Mohammed Faris, Mostafa Allam and Qais Mekki, among others. www.talesofkhayaal.com/reviews

I thank Peter Gould from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to serve as Advisor on Tales of Khayaal. As one of the early readers of book one, Arön, it has been a special honor for me to provide Peter, Rehan Khan and their colleagues at Gould Studio with feedback. www.talesofkhayaal.com

As Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies, I will remain eternally grateful to our outgoing Editor, Heather Ferguson, for her services to our publication. I wish her the best of luck for her new role as Co-Editor of IJMES. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Go raibh maith agat and thank you again to Seán O’Quoi for hosting me on his show Things Visible and Invisible (TVI). Another one of our episodes premiered on YouTube on August 28, 2025: “How Islam Explains Aliens: UFOs, Jinn, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life” www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wq0...

I wholeheartedly congratulate (@mervet.bsky.social and Sami Ahmad Khan on the publication of their edited book The Speculative Route: Futures from South and Southwest Asia and North Africa (Routledge, 2026). I thank them for the opportunity to write a blurb. www.routledge.com/The-Speculat...

Danke zum zweiten Mal and thank you for the second time to Andreas Müller for reviewing a book of mine on @grewiaktuell.bsky.social. He wrote about Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life (@ibtauris.bsky.social). www.grenzwissenschaft-aktuell.de/neues-buch-u...

It is with universal gratitude that I announce the release of the paperback edition of Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life by @ibtauris.bsky.social. We will never forget Sophie Rudland’s crucial support. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/islamic-t...

Terima kasih banyak and thank you very much to Lolyta Poniman and her colleagues in our Department of Human Resources at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar for inviting me back to give the Academic Orientation as part of our New Hires Orientation today! qatar.vcu.edu/about-vcu-ar...

Thank you, धन्यवाद and gracias to Pallavi Das and Pablo F. Gómez for inviting me write a review of @mjrubenstein.bsky.social‬’s book Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race (@uchicagopress.bsky.social) in @isisjournal.bsky.social. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Supporting the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the Research into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) / Brenda Denzler, Jörg Matthias Determann / 2025 / Submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on UK Engagement with Space

Double congratulations to @mervet.bsky.social ‬‬‬‬‬and Sami Ahmad Khan the completion of their edited volume The Speculative Route: Futures from South and Southwest Asia and North Africa (Routledge, 2025). It has been my great honor to provide an endorsement. www.routledge.com/The-Speculat...

Thank you very much and آپ کا بہت بہت شکریہ for uploading a recording of my presentation to YouTube, Scientia! I am immensely grateful to @fouzsiddiqui.bsky.social for inviting me and to Saadeqa Khan for her support. It was a special honor to give this webinar. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fthk...

All thanks and appreciation to Stefanie Dunning for accepting a proposal of mine for the SFRA conference at @urochester.bsky.social! I am honored to speak about “Isaac Asimov and the Teaching of Science with Science Fiction” at Panel 15 on July 31.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ sfra.org/conferences/...

Míle buíochas and a thousand thanks to Seán O’Quoi for interviewing me for Things Visible and Invisible (TVI). Our episode is entitled “Do MUSLIMS believe in AlLIENS? UFOs?” It premiered on YouTube on July 18, 2025. Joanne Suyat had reached out to me back in May. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl4B...

I am very grateful and میں بہت مشکور ہوں۔ to @fouzsiddiqui.bsky.social for inviting me back as a speaker to the Science Writing Internship webinar series of Scientia Pakistan. On July 20, 2025, at 4pm Pakistan time, I will be honored to address the interns of cohort four meet.google.com/unb-mkgc-gof

Thank you and 감사합니다 to Sooyeun Yang for sending me photos from the panel I chaired at the Meeting of ‪ @bshsnews.bsky.social at @cam.ac.uk. Po-Hung Liu, @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social, @busradede.bsky.social and Majideh Qazizadeh gave spectacular presentations. conference.bshs.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Thank you very much and mulțumesc foarte mult to @cstanciu2025.bsky.social for inviting me to give a virtual talk in the Meet VCU Authors series! On September 22, 2025, I will speak on Zoom about “One Planet, One Sky: Internationalism in Modern Astronomy.” humanitiescenter.vcu.edu/events/meet-...

A world of gratitude (یک دنیا سپاس) to Parviz Tarikhi for reviewing my @springer.springernature.com book Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy alongside Tomáš W. Pavlíček, Petra Hyklová and Martin Šolc’s volume Astronomers behind the Iron Curtain! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I would like to add to my expression of gratitude to @samhistsci.bsky.social by thanking him for allowing me to chair a panel at the conference of @bshsnews.bsky.social with Po-Hung Liu, @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social, @busradede.bsky.social and Majideh Qazizadeh. conference.bshs.org.uk/wp-content/u...

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to @samhistsci.bsky.social and Jim Secord for accepting a paper of mine for inclusion in the 2025 Annual Meeting of @bshsnews.bsky.social at @cam.ac.uk: “Isaac Asimov and Science Education in Twentieth-Century America.” conference.bshs.org.uk/programme/%E...

Being responsible for editing book reviews at our Journal of Arabian Studies, I extend my sincere gratitude to those who wrote for our newest issue (14.2): @alsarihi.bsky.social, Dawn Chatty, @mchrislow.bsky.social, Joe Kéchichian, Nadya Hapsari and Sheam Khan www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjab20/1...

You have my sincere thanks and لك خالص الشكر, Ahmed Shaker Alalaq, for appointing me to the Editorial Board of the Kufa Journal of Arts (مجلة آداب الكوفة)! I am very honored to serve alongside Ahmed, our managing editor Safaa Almudhafar and and our staff. journal.uokufa.edu.iq/index.php/ku...

Thank you, عيشك, merci, dank u, danke and gracias to everyone who made the ENIS Spring School ’25 at the Université de Tunis a success. I have to mention @joaswagemakers.bsky.social‬, Sara Muller, Hiba Mednini and Julius Dihstelhoff and Mònica Colominas Aparicio. www.academia.edu/129618454/Im...

It is with the deepest gratitude to my fellow members of @iau-wgsn.bsky.social that I am sharing an update on our work. In April and May 2025, we adopted the following stars names: Alfarasalkamil, Honores, Kaffalmusalsala, Paradys, Rasalnaqa and Udkadua. xing.fmi.uni-jena.de/mediawiki/in...

Ein sehr großes Dankeschön (a very big thank you) to Michael Bohlander of @durham-university.bsky.social for inviting me to be one of the supporting contributors to Written Evidence submitted to @lordsukspacecom.parliament.uk. committees.parliament.uk/writtenevide...

Estoy muy agradecido (I am very grateful) to @pascalin.unam.social.ap.brid.gy for interviewing me for the ISHPSSB Newsletter. I am also deeply thankful to @vbs55.bsky.social ‬for inviting me to make this contribution. www.ishpssb.org/news/newslet...

Thank you in advance, alvast bedankt and شكراً مقدماً to the organizers of the ENIS Spring School ’25 for hosting me at the Université de Tunis from May 27 to 30, 2025. I say dank u to @joaswagemakers.bsky.social and Sara Muller and عيشك to Hiba Mednini in particular. www.unil.ch/news/en/1741...

I sincerely appreciate Caleb Mayo’s invitation to appear on @wtufo.bsky.social ‬. Our episode, S5E2, was released on YouTube, Buzzsprout and X on May 23, 2025. It includes music by John Hubbell. I thank Michael Bohlander for recommending me to Caleb. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYNs...

I am very grateful and خیلی سپاسگزارم to Mahjoob Zweiri for allowing me to write a review of Donald Baker’s book Making Qatar University. My article appeared in the Journal of Gulf Studies 1, no. 2 (2024), 193–95. @intellectbooks.bsky.social published it online in 2025. doi.org/10.1386/jgs_...

Journal of Gulf Studies 1.2 is out now! Including ‘Argentina–Qatar: From unlikely partners to a developing partnership’ (2011–23) by Ornela Fabani. @QUGulfStudies Access the issue via discover 👉 intellectdiscover.co...

My heartfelt gratitude to Peter Gould for giving an inspiring speech at the 2025 commencement ceremony of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar! I had the immense honor of hosting and escorting Peter. His trip included a visit to our show Art and Design Now at M7. qatar.vcu.edu/news/vcuarts...

Alf shukr and thank you a thousand times to Eman Alsoudi for inviting me to serve as an on-screen contributor to a documentary about Ameen Rihani as part of the series مذكرات (Memoirs) on @alaraby.com. It was aired on May 13, 2025, www.alarabyplus.net/ar/node/23867

I have been thanking Natana DeLong-Bas for over a decade. This time, I ask her to accept my gratitude for a thoughtful review she composed of Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life (@ibtauris.bsky.social). doi.org/10.1080/0959...

Thank you very much and terima kasih banyak to Lolyta Poniman and her colleagues in our Department of Human Resources at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar for including me in a section of their newsletter called “Featured Employee” (HRConnect 24, May 2025)! www.academia.edu/129343809/J%...

Thank you, Спасибо and дякую to Olga Protopopova for allowing my daughter Maria to participate in a celebration of International Jazz Day at the International Centre for Music (ICM) in Qatar! Olga and Maria played “Lullaby” by George Shearing on May 2, 2025. www.facebook.com/ICMQATAR/vid...

In my role as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies (@tandfresearch.bsky.social), I must give thanks to the contributors to our latest issue. Volume 14, number 1, is formally dated June 2024, but was published online on May 7, 2025. www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjab20/1...

Alf mabrūk (a thousand congratulations) to Maryam Al-Tajer on successfully defending her MFA thesis at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar! Her project is entitled “Vessels of Spirituality: Merging Faith and Form.” scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/8002/

As Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies, I have to say a big thank you to the contributors to our most recent issue (vol. 57, no. 2). I am particularly indebted to Zarqa Parvez and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz. Additionally, I thank Heather Ferguson. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

A very big thanks and diolch yn fawr iawn to Nicholas Campion for writing a long review of my @springer1842.bsky.social book Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy! He engages with my work in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 28, no. 1 (2025). doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...

My profoundest gratitude to Peter Martin, Nimer Murshid and Sahar Mari for commissioning a new website for our Qatar Teaching and Learning Forum (QTLF)! Reem Kensouh, Hiba Hamad, and Khalifa Al Thani of Carnegie Mellon University Qatar built the site under the mentorship of Mohammad Aazam. qtlf.org

Very many thanks to Wayne Orchiston and his colleagues at the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage for publishing a paper by our @iau-wgsn.bsky.social ! Special thanks to Susanne Hoffmann and Yang Boshun for making this possible! doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...

🛸𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🛸 My review of Jörg Matthias Determann's @determann.bsky.social Islam, Science Fiction, and Extraterrestrial Life @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social is now out in the International Journal of Middle East Studies (by Cambridge University Press)! Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S002...

Thank you, teşekkürler, takk, and dank u to @mervet.bsky.social for reviewing my @ibtauris.bsky.social book Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life. Her discussion appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies 56, no. 4 (2024): 686–88. doi.org/10.1017/S002....

I have an abundance of gratitude to Esmat Zaidan and Byrad Yyelland for moderating a panel with Ghizlane Bendriss, @yasemin-c.bsky.social, @sarapatra.bsky.social, Maryam Al-Sada, Mysti Rudd, Jeffrey Squires and me at @nuqatar.bsky.social on April 23, 2025. www.academia.edu/128967718/Re...