Five years’ worth of applause for Mustafa Nasar for finishing his doctoral dissertation on representations of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf. It was an exceptional privilege for me to serve as his second supervisor at @unibas.ch. nahoststudien.philhist.unibas.ch/en/doktorat/...

Many congratulations and بہت بہت مبارک ہو to Fariha Ahmed on completing her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) thesis in Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar! Together with Diane Derr and Rab McClure, I had the distinct honor of serving on Fariha’s committee. scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/8352/

Meine herzlichen Glückwünsche and my heartfelt congratulations to my daughter Maria on being among the finalists of DESS Has Got Talent for this year! She entered the competition by playing a piano piece by Daniel Steibelt called “Sonatina.” app.smore.com/n/kdvbg

Featuring Matthias Determann: Historian, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar David Grinspoon: Senior scientist, Planetary Science Institute Shaykh Hamza Karamali: Founder of Basira Education Includes Nick Pope: #UAP investigator, UK Ministry of Defense (retired)

I am in wonderful company when I thank Hureyre Kam for inviting me to join the Editorial Board of his new book series on Islam, Science and Ethics of Emerging Technologies. It is published by Trivent under its Transhumanism imprint. trivent-publishing.eu/120-islam-sc...

For the second time in days, I am obliged to say thank you to Mahjoob Zweiri and Emilie Rutledge. After first inviting me to join the Editorial Board of the @intellectbooks.bsky.social Journal of Gulf Studies, they appointed me as one of their Associate Editors www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-g...

Herzlichen Dank and thanks from the heart to @susanne-m-hoffmann.bsky.social for entrusting me with the role of General Councillor of @iau-wgsn.bsky.social. It is an exceptional honor and privilege for me to collaborate with brilliant scholars from across our planet. exopla.net/star-names/g...

Thank you to Emilie Rutledge, the Managing Editor of our @intellectbooks.bsky.social Journal of Gulf Studies, for asking Mahjoob Zweiri and me for our thoughts on a call for papers she proposed! We are soliciting submissions for a special issue on the Iran war www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-g...

Doppelter Glückwunsch and double congratulations to my daughter Maria! She achieved first place in her class in the DESS Primary Creative Writing Competition 2026. Moreover, she is one of three whose writing has been entered into the larger BSME competition. app.smore.com/n/qd82ty

Words cannot describe how grateful I am to @samhfranz.com for editing a manuscript of mine for publication in the @historyscience.bsky.social Newsletter 55, no. 2 (April 2026). My piece is entitled “How to Revolutionize Your Survey Course in the History of Science.” hssonline.org/blogpost/198...

Around twice a year, it is time for me to give thanks in my role as book review editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies. Guillemette Crouzet, Neil Partrick, Nora Derbal, @thomasjuneau.bsky.social and Tobias Zumbraegel all contributed pieces to volume 15, issue 2. www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjab20/1...

A few thank-yous in advance to everyone who is part of my panel 5 on “Cultural Production” at the conference on Muslim Futures on April 17, 2026. They include Delia Cortese, Glaire Anderson and @vjumamel.bsky.social as well as Nathaniel Greenberg. islamicstudiescenter.gmu.edu/events/17717

My thanks to reviewers of my books are often delayed, as I don’t find out about their pieces. This is the case with Hureyre Kam, who reviewed Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life www.buchgestaltung-online.de/Leseproben/L...

@sf-lit.bsky.social #science-fiction

This sounds fun

Grazie infinite and endless thanks to Lisa Scalone and her colleagues at @springer.springernature.com for believing in my book Teaching Science Through Science Fiction: A Story of Innovation in the Classroom and Beyond. It is scheduled for publication in August 2026 link.springer.com/book/9783032...

The greatest gratitude is due to @aljazeera.com for supporting our Doha Debates Podcast. Soraya Salam hosted the discussion between @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social, Hamza Karamali, Nick Pope and me. Ruby Zaman, Dagna Gallinger Maksym and many others made this possible. www.aljazeera.com/video/doha-d...

Kull al-shukr (كل الشكر) “all the thanks” to Amjad Atallah and his colleagues at Doha Debates for recording a podcast with @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social, Hamza Karamali, Nick Pope and me. Guided by our host Soraya Salam, we discussed “Are we alone in the universe?” dohadebates.com/doha-debates...

March 24, 2026: Lots of thanks, شكراً جزيلاً (shukran jazīlan), and سپاس فراوان (sepās-e farāvān) to Emilie Rutledge and Mahjoob Zweiri for inviting me to join the Editorial Board of the Journal of Gulf Studies (@intellectbooks.bsky.social). www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-g...

🔭インクルーシブ天文学🌌 Determann, J. M. (2023). Diversity, equity, and inclusion in astronomy: A modern history. Springer Cham. doi.org/10.1007/978-...

October Colloquium with Dr. Jörg Matthias Determann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EHFXWgN5j8 #UFObluesky #UFO #UFOs #UAP #EndUAPsecrecy #UAPtransparency

Triple thanks to Farichah Naily Faizah, Muslimah Paxia ilyas, and Siti Mardiyah for reviewing Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life (@bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social). The trio calls our book an “essential resource.” doi.org/10.1080/1474...

I owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude to @anthony-nairn.bsky.social for having Shoaib Ahmed Malik and me in discussion with one another. Our episode of In Conversation, a series @the-issr.bsky.social, centers on pedagogy and the classroom. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOJP...

✨ 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-...

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...