榴莲视频官方

Women鈥檚 History Month calls for highlighting the many ways in which remarkable women enhance our world and lives. This article spotlights a few contemporary women scholars whose research and publications have contributed significantly to understanding the Shia Ismaili Muslim community. The impact of their studies has shaped how others view the Ismaili community and how members of the community see themselves. Their findings shed light on various aspects of the the Ismaili Muslim community under the guidance of their Imam-of-the-Time. This theme emerges through the work of the following female scholars, listed alphabetically by last name.

Table of contents

Dr Nadia Eboo Jamal

Dr Shainool Jiwa

Dr Tazim Kassam

Emerita Professor Zayn Kassam

Dr Shenila Khoja-Moolji

Dr Arzina Lalani

Dr Gurdofarid Miskinzoda

Zawahir Moir

Dr Nacim Pak-Shiraz

Dr Nadia Eboo-Jamal sits on the Board of Governors at 榴莲视频官方 of Ismaili Studies (IIS). She is a lecturer, historian, and author who focuses broadly on the history of Muslim societies. In her monograph, Surviving the Mongols: Niz膩r墨 Quhist膩n墨 and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia (2002), Dr Jamal presents the tenacity of the Persian Ismailis in facing the ruthless Mongol attacks. She describes the complex network of the 13th century CE Ismaili鈥痙a士wa鈥痑s an enabling force for the community and follows Niz膩ri Quhist膩n墨鈥檚 travelogue from Quhist膩n to Transcaucasia around 1280. This analysis substantiated the existence of the Ismaili鈥痙a士wa鈥痑nd, thus, the continuity of the Ismaili tradition in Persia through the era of Mongol rule.听 In recent years, Dr Eboo-Jamal has contributed significantly to the development of religious education curricular materials at the IIS.

Dr Shainool Jiwa specialises in Fatimid studies and is an Associate Professor at the IIS. She also serves as a General Editor for the Living Ismaili Traditions series as well as the World of Islam series, for which she has authored two accessible publications, The Fatimids 1: The Rise of a Muslim Empire (2017) and The Fatimids 2: The Rule from Egypt (2023). In 2015, she co-edited The Shi鈥榠 World: Pathways in Tradition and Modernity, a comprehensive collection of perspectives about Shi士i communities worldwide and how they view themselves and articulate their teachings. In 2017, she co-edited another masterpiece, The Fatimid Caliphate: Diversity of Traditions, which offered valuable insight into the policies of tolerance established by the Fatimid Imam-caliphs towards the various religious and ethnic communities who occupied their vast empire over two centuries.听 Dr Jiwa continues to teach on the Institute鈥檚 graduate programmes as well as other episodic training initiatives.

Dr Tazim Kassam is an Associate Professor at Syracuse University, Department of Religion. Her research and teaching interests include gender, ritual, devotional literature, syncretism, and the cultural heritage of Muslims, particularly in South Asia. In her book (1995), she explores the ginan tradition of the Ismaili Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent as they emerge through the synchronicities of Hindu-Muslim ideas. She also co-edited , in which the Satpanth Ismaili Muslims of South Asia are spotlighted as a small Shi'a community that spread from India to other continents while maintaining identity through their devotional literary tradition.

Emerita Professor Zayn Kassam is the Director of the IIS and Head of the Department of Academic 榴莲视频官方 and Publications. She has expertise in and taught courses on gender, environment, and community engagement in addition to her specialisations in Islam, methods in the study of religions, Sufism, and Islamic philosophy.鈥疭he is the author of Islam (2005), the editor of 鈥�(2010) and鈥� (2017), amongst several other critical encyclopaedia and journal articles. Her book chapter on (2016) examines how American Muslim migrants navigate the transition of cultural, political, social, and religious landscapes through religion and religious identity. She draws attention to religious identity as a dynamic phenomenon, undergoing perpetual construction and reconstruction in response to, and through interaction with, the broader public sphere. Professor Kassam has received several awards for distinguished teaching. In addition, she has served on the board of the American Academy of Religion, as Co-editor of the and is on the editorial board for the .

Dr Shenila Khoja-Moolji is an Associate Professor of Muslim Societies at Georgetown University. Her research interests involve Muslim populations in South Asia and the North American diaspora from the lens of gender, race, religion, and power in transnational contexts. Her books, entitled 鈥� (2018) and (2021) received several high-calibre awards. Her latest book,鈥�鈥� (2023) is a tribute to the transnational lives of Ismaili Muslim women and their journeys from colonial India to East Africa and then to North America. Dr Khoja-Moolji writes women into history as heroines and catalysts of community-building through their everyday interaction and interests in each other, no matter where they live.

Dr Arzina Lalani served as a researcher, writer, and lecturer at the IIS. In her monograph, Early Sh墨鈥樐� Thought: The Teachings of Imam Mu岣�ammad al-B膩qir (2000), which won prestigious literary awards and has been translated into several languages, Dr Lalani explores Imam al-B膩qir鈥檚 pivotal contributions during the formative period of Islamic thought. These contributions influenced the development of Sh墨士墨 law, theology, and religious practice. The study draws particular attention to the formulation of the Sh墨士墨 doctrine of鈥痠mamate, in light of the political backdrop of Islam a century after the passing of the Prophet. Dr Lalani is also the editor and translator of a new Arabic edition and English translation of A岣�mad b Ibr膩h墨m al-Nays膩b奴r墨's Kit膩b ithb膩t al-im膩ma, published by the IIS as Degrees of Excellence: A Fatimid Treatise on Leadership in Islam (2009). Beyond this, she has published numerous journal articles as well.

Dr Gurdofarid Miskinzoda is the Head of the Shi鈥榠 Studies Unit at the IIS. Her areas of focus are Muslim historical and literary tradition, Shi士i鈥疘slam, History of Islam until 17th century, Classical Arabic and Persian Literature. She co-edited The Study of Shi士i Islam: History, Theology and Law (2014), a collection of papers organised under the themes of history, the Qur示an and its Shi士i interpretations,鈥�岣�a诲墨迟丑, law, authority, theology, rites and rituals, and intellectual traditions and philosophy.鈥疭he has two forthcoming titles: a monograph entitled Identity, doctrine and the writing of history, and Narratives of the Life of Muhammad: Redefining S墨ra Literature. In addition to having published several journal and encyclopaedia articles, Dr Miskinzoda also teaches on IIS鈥� graduate programmes.

Zawahir Moir (d. 2024), whose efforts towards the Ismaili scholarship pre-date the establishment of the IIS, was a scholar of Khojki鈥痵cript, South Asian Ismaili traditions, and Gin膩ns. Her seminal work in cataloguing the鈥疜hojki鈥痬anuscripts created pathways for future 驳颈苍腻苍颈肠 scholars to pursue their academic search, thereby enriching the overall study of Ismaili devotional literature. Her publications shed light on the work and context of the Satpanth鈥痯irs (saint-teachers), and the circumstances that led to the migration of the first鈥疉ga Khan鈥痶o India. She co-authored (2001), which was a groundbreaking intervention in the study of the Satpanth literature. Zawahir鈥檚 contributions have left an indelible mark on the study of the Indian Ismaili tradition.

Dr. Nacim Pak-Shiraz sits on the Board of Governors at the IIS. She is the head of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Her areas of inquiry include visual cultures, constructions of masculinity, and the engagement of religion and film. In her book, (2018), she showcases how the Iranian film directors impress upon the religious and historical narratives of culture and society. Through her inquiry, she has created a curiosity and dialogue in the public arena about the various ways that Shi'ism is represented on screen, what avenues the medium of film offers the Iranian society, and how films provide a platform to express Iranian and Muslim identities after three decades under Islamic rule.

These are but a few of the many women scholars who have worked tirelessly in the field of Ismaili studies. We are grateful to these women who are trailblazers in their curiosities and contributions.听听

Image: STEP and GPISH Students. Photo by Jonathan Goldberg.