UA Hosts Visiting Islamic Scholar

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Honors College, department of history, and Capstone International Center are hosting visiting Islamic scholar, Dr. Haiffa Jawad, on campus this semester. Jawad comes to UA as part of the Understanding Contemporary Islam (UCI) Program, a joint venture of the Fulbright Commission and the American University of Beirut (AUB).

Jawad, a native of Iraq, currently serves as a senior lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Birmingham department of theology in the United Kingdom. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Baghdad University and received her Ph.D. from Exeter University in England.

The Understanding Contemporary Islam Program and American University of Beirut approached Jawad over a year ago with the opportunity to come teach Contemporary Islam at an American university, and on Dec. 15 she was assigned to serve as a guest scholar at UA.

While at UA, Jawad will be conducting a number of panel discussions and lectures at local organizations and churches. She is also teaching several classes including Modern Islamic History and the World of Islam, a class in which culture, arts, religion and issues of Islam will be discussed.

On May 5, she will return to the University of Birmingham in England to teach classes and conduct research.

Since coming to UA in early February, Jawad said she has enjoyed her stay at UA so far and commented on how friendly everyone she has met has been.

“People here at UA are so nice and easy to talk to. This is a beautiful area and I am enjoying my visit,” Jawad said.

Along with serving as a faculty member at the University of Birmingham, Jawad is also a published author. She has written many articles and papers discussing gender issues of Islamic women today, including “The Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach” (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998) and “Muslim Women in the United Kingdom and Beyond: Experiences and Images” (Leiden: Brill, 2003) in which she served as a contributor and co-editor.

Jawad has been invited to present her papers at the annual Women’s Society for Theologians in Bulgaria this summer. Currently, Jawad is working on a paper entitled “Islam Feminism Leadership Roles and Public Representation” that will be published in November.