April 25, 2024, 1:00 PM to April 26, 2024, 4:00 PM EDT
Recent decades have witnessed the increasing presence and prominence of Muslim women in a variety of civic and professional contexts, as well as in charitable, educational, and cultural organizations. At the same time, explicitly religious roles for Muslim women as religious scholars, mosque leaders, chaplains, and legal authorities also continue to expand in number, scope, and influence. This year, the AbuSulayman Center’s annual conference will bring together both scholars and practitioners for an extended discussion of the many ways in which Muslim women are leading, shaping, and supporting their communities.
PROGRAM
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Panel 1 | Merten 1204 | 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Women Leaders in History
Ayat Agah: Fatima bint Muhammad as a Model for Religious and Civic Leadership
Mohamed Enab Abdoulrahman: Princess Ġāliyah Al-Būqamiyah: An Historical Analysis of her Legacy and Political Influence in 19th Century Saudi Arabia
Safa Demir Sari: The First Leadership and Organizational Experience of a Muslim Turkish: Fatma Bacı and Bacıyân-ı Rum (Anatolian Women)
Discussant: Sumaiya Hamdani
Panel 2 | 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Muslim Women and State Programs
Meriem El Heitami: Women’s Religious Authority in Morocco: An Ethnography of Compliant Agency
Dina Hosni: State-Sponsored Female Preaching in Egypt and the Question of Women’s Agency
Rose Hattab: From Totalitarianism to Republic: Iraqi Women’s Rights Under State Civil Law and Conservative Influences
Discussant: Maria Dakake
Break | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Keynote Speaker | 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm | Fenwick Library Main Reading Room
Mirjam Künkler: Women Interpreting Islamic Law: What we know and do not know about Women’s Juristic Authority in Islam.
Friday, April 26, 2024
Panel 1 | 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Women in Islamic Scholarship
Asma Sayeed: Female Participation in Moroccan Qurʾānic Studies: Challenges and Opportunities
Feryal Salem: Women’s Formative Leadership in Contemporary Islamic Contexts: Shaykha Munirah Qubaysi (1934 – 2022)
Celene Ibrahim: Muslim Feminist Thought Leadership: Path-Finding and Agenda-Setting between Liberative Epistemologies and Religious Conservatism
Jumana Al-Ahmad: Tunisian Women Scholars: Advocates of Progress in Social Justice and Gender Equality
Discussant: Maria Dakake
Panel 2 | 10:45 am – 12:15 pm
Muslim Women Activists
Sobia Ibrahim: Sufism and Ecofeminism: The Role of Tijani Sufism in Promoting Ecofeminism in Senegal
Daisy Khan: Muslim Women’s Activism in US Context: Experiences and Challenges
Fatima El Sayed: “We empower German society so it becomes more diverse.”: Muslim Women Organizations’ Intersectional Politics in Post migrant Germany
Discussant: Ahmet Tekelioglu
Break | 12:15 pm – 1:45 pm
Panel 3 | 1:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Women Leaders Creating Community in Contemporary Contexts
Betül Kafkas: Women in Mosques between Leadership Positions, Visibility, and Gender Imbalance: Perspectives from Germany
Hiba Khodr: Challenges and Opportunities in Creating a Women’s Community as a Third Space in Muslim Societies
Maryam Sharrieff: From the Back of the Bus to the Front of the Masjid: Black American Muslim Women’s Leadership and Authority in Sacred Knowledge Educative Spaces
Louise Cainkar: US Muslim Women-led refugee resettlement
Discussant: Yasemin Ipek
Closing Remarks | 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm
April 25, 2024