Lecturer: Mahjabeen Dhala, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Graduate Theological Union (affiliation at the date recorded)


Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes


Date Recorded: December 2021


Subject: Ashura marks a significant event in Islamic history and has a profound impact on Shi’a identity and lived experience. In this presentation, the speaker will explore the historical, spiritual, political, social, and inter-religious discourses that emerge from this seventh century episode which are relevant to contemporary concerns for peace and justice.


Bio: Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She is also director of the Madrasa-Midrasha program which is an interreligious collaborative research initiative of the GTU. She serves on the steering committee of the Women’s Studies in Religion program and is co-chair of the Ethics Unit of the American Academy of Religion’s western region. Dr. Dhala’s work focuses on female contributions to Islamic thought and institution in early Islamic history and explores their role as scholars, leaders, and activists. In her capacity as religious leader and spiritual guide for over two decades, she has served Muslim communities across the US, Canada, the UK, Africa, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Her wide travels and her rich engagement with diverse communities continues to inform her research on the trials, triumphs, and tenacity of premodern as well as contemporary Muslim women in the global South and North.


Readings:


Hylén, Torsten, “The Hand of God Is Over Their Hands (Q. 48:10): On the Notion of Covenant in al-Ṭabarī’s account of Karbala,” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 18.2 (2016): 58–88.


Deeb, Lara Z. “From Mourning to Activism: Sayyedeh Zaynab, Lebanese Shi ‘i Women, and the Transformation of Ashura.” The Women of Karbala. University of Texas Press, 2021. 241-266.