IU experts available to comment on protests in Iran after woman’s death in police custody

Professor Asma Afsaruddin is an expert on Islamic studies, including Islamic religious and political thought, contemporary Islamic movements, gender roles and Islam in modern society. Her latest book is “Contemporary Issues in Islam.”

Heather Akou is an associate professor in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, specializing in histories of fashion, dress and the body. She is also director of the Sage Collection, co-coordinator of the fashion design program, a member of the editorial board for Bloomsbury Fashion Central (a major online resource for fashion studies based in the U.K.), and co-founder and co-director of the Dress and Body Association.

Assistant professor Hussein Banai’s research is focused on Iran’s political development as well as on United States and Iran relations. He has co-convened on a critical oral history project – along with colleagues at Brown University, MIT, the George Washington University and the University of Waterloo – on U.S. and Iran relations since 2007. The project brings together former Iranian and American officials, scholars, journalists and other interested parties to explore missed opportunities and breakthroughs in U.S. and Iran relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Distinguished Professor Jamsheed Choksy’s research focuses on Iranian and Persian studies, Indian subcontinental studies, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Manichaeism.