Ivy Muslims Conference
The Ivy Muslims Conference (IMC) was conceptualized by Lisa Kinney-Bajwa and Omer Bajwa during their days at Cornell University. The idea was to bring together Muslim students to engage and discuss their intellectual and spiritual lives. Unfortunately, Cornell’s remote location proved challenging. However, in 2008, when Lisa and Omer moved to New Haven, they realized that Yale was well situated to invite and host the other Ivy League campuses.
The Ivy League is a consortium of universities that share unique social, intellectual and professional opportunities and challenges. In the midst of contemporary American academic life, Muslims at these institutions grapple with these opportunities and challenges, as well as issues of identity and purpose. Thus, IMC invites Muslims to explore, interrogate and discuss these issues, especially as they relate to their intellectual and spiritual lives, by bringing together hundreds of Muslim students from across the Ivy League for a weekend of networking, fellowship, and unique conversations about the intellectual and spiritual opportunities and challenges of being Muslim today.