Mark Hay

I am a sometimes-freelance writer, sometimes-blogger, and former graduate student at the University of Oxford. My works have appeared in Asoko News, Capital New York, Esquire, The Economist, Foreign Service Journal, GOOD Magazine, Men’s Journal, Roads & Kingdoms, Slate, and VICE, among numerous other minor publications. I write about anything under the big tent of culture, faith, identity politics, and sexuality—basically anything human beings will fight over.  Academically, I worked with Islamic history and theology. My personal research involves the development of Islamic identities and kingdoms in East Africa (especially Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia). I also continue to work on-and-off with The New Muslim Survey, an academic collaboration studying the experiences and motives of modern day converts. Though not fluent, I have a basic working knowledge of Arabic and a functional knowledge of Farsi, German, Hindi, and Urdu. I work on a number of side projects as well, many involving the internationalization of higher education. I blog on discoveries made during my travels and occasionally on dream theories. I hope to soon launch two new blogs, one on the sartorial elements of Islam and the other on Mexican food around the world—I am an avid and inventive cook. In pursuit of good stories and research, I have burrowed down into the tunnels under New York, canoed the Gowanus Canal, and CouchSurfed through Pakistan. I have traveled substantially in Central Asia and East Africa. I also own a sizable collection of paisley ties, which may speak louder and clearer than anything above.