This site promotes and conducts interdisciplinary research on contemporary social and intellectual trends and movements in Muslim societies and communities. The ISIM's research approaches are interdisciplinary and comparative, covering a large geographic range, which includes North Africa and the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, and (Muslim communities in) the West. The ISIM was established in 1998 by the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, and Utrecht University. The University of Nijmegen joined the ISIM in January 2000. The ISIM cooperates with various institutions and scholars in the Muslim world and the West.