Qu’ran Scholar to Discuss Role of Women in Islam. Monday, April 16, 2007

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Dr. Amina Wadud, an internationally known Qur'an scholar and leading advocate of Islamic feminism, will discuss "Islam and Women Beyond the 20th Century" on Monday, April 16, at 6:00 p.m., in the Villard Room of the College Center. This event is free and open to the public.

[Left: Dr. Amina Wadud] Wadud is currently a visiting scholar at the Starr King School for Ministry of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. Her seminal book Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (1992, reprinted in 1999) was the first published interpretative reading of the Qur'an by a woman. Wadud's validation of the female voice in the Qur'an continues to be championed by progressive Islamic groups.

In August 1994, Wadud delivered a Friday khutbah (sermon) in Cape Town, South Africa, a rare occurrence for a woman. And in October 2005, after speaking at the International Congress on Islamic Feminism in Barcelona, she was invited to lead a congregation of approximately thirty people. In New York City in March 2005, she became the first woman in the United States to lead a mixed group of male and female Muslims in Friday prayer.

Wadud has been a visiting research associate with the Women's Studies Program at Harvard Divinity School, and taught at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. In addition to the subject of women in Islam, Wadud's research includes the influence of Islam in America.

This event is sponsored by the department of religion. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations at Vassar should contact the Office of Campus Activities at (845) 437-5370.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007.