This oral history project began as an offshoot of a research project of Professor Megan Robb <a href=“https://rels.sas.upenn.edu/people/megan-robb”>Professor Megan Eaton Robb</a> and <a href=“http://maxjohnsondugan.com/“>Max Johnson Dugan</a>. The ISCC generously allowed us to learn about communal sentiments about the new center design of the community. Max first learned about the plan to build a new center in place of the current ISCC space at an Iftar he attended at the ISCC in 2018—he had also done interfaith work with the ISCC since 2014 as part of Interfaith Philadelphia’s <a href=“https://www.interfaithphiladelphia.org/walking-the-walk”>Walking the Walk program</a>. More detailed research and analysis can be found in a forthcoming chapter in an edited volume on sport and religion in North America.
This oral history is based on data collected through interviews and archival research from January to April 2020. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all of these interviews took place by Zoom. We were very fortunate to speak with Dr. Usmani—whose knowledge serves as the basis for much of the oral history—in person. Fortunately, Zoom made the interview process relatively seamless, except for the occasional technical issue or lagging bandwidth.
The ISCC was generous, accommodating, and brilliantly insightful throughout the research process. Any insights in our data are the insights of the ISCC community; any faults and errors our own.