Beginning in 2018, Benjamin Soares will direct a three-year multi-disciplinary project, “Islam and Africa in Global Context,” funded through a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Initiative on Religion in International Affairs to the University of Florida. The project will be carried out by the Center for Global Islamic Studies in conjunction with the Center for African Studies. The main objectives are to deepen knowledge of Islam in Africa, challenge scholars of Islam working on other geographic areas to engage more fully with scholarship on Africa, and strengthen the study and understanding of Islam in the US, as well as in non-US institutions of higher education especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The main project themes include: Muslims and new media; contemporary ways of being Muslim; Muslim-Christian encounters; and Islam and politics. In addition to helping to consolidate UF’s standing as a leading hub for the study of Islam in Africa, the project will also support non-US-based scholars, institutions, and higher education, particularly in Africa, through the training and mentoring of a group of scholars (some of whom might be future policymakers). It will also facilitate long-term international exchanges and networks.