Dr Simonetta Calderini is one of Southlands Methodist Trust’s grant recipients and a Reader in Islamic Studies at the University of Roehampton. She has a new book published entitled ‘ Women As Imams: Classical Islamic Sources and Modern Debates on Leading Prayer’, published by I.B. Taurus.
There is a long and rich history of opinion centred on female prayer leadership in Islam that has occupied the minds of theologians and jurists alike. It includes outright prohibition, dislike, permissibility under certain conditions and, although rarely, unrestricted sanction, or even endorsement.
This ground-breaking book interrogates the cases of women who are reported to have led prayer in the past. It then analyses the voices of current women imams, many of whom engage with those women of the past to validate their own roles in the present and so pave the way for the future. Read more on Twitter here including discount information.
A launch event is taking place on Thursday 21 January, 2021, 6.45-8.00pm, online, hosted by the University of Roehampton. For information and zoom details, contact Karen O’Brien-Kop.
Find out more about this project
Find out more about Southlands Methodist Trust grants for research by the University of Roehampton community here.