A series of blogs on Hafsa bint Sirin (d. 100/800), a scholar of Qur'an, Hadith, and legal readings of the Qur'an, and a deeply pious worshipper. The blogs discuss how women's stories over time have been transmitted and interpreted in such ways as to emphasize pious solitude rather than social or intellectual engagement. Introduction Women's … Continue reading “Reconstructions of the Past: Hafsa bint Sirin” (8 blog entries published on Feminism and Religion)
Blogging at Feminism and Religion
I'm very proud to share that I'm a contributor at the "Feminism and Religion" blog. Please click through to see my first post entitled "Muslim Ritual Prayer, Social Submission, and Embodied Dissonance," which concerns the use of repetitive ritual behaviors as a means of gendered-social control. My second post, "Creating Space: Mosques Affirming All Bodies Minds … Continue reading Blogging at Feminism and Religion
2013 Spring Term Jameson Jones Visiting Preacher at Iliff School of Theology
I am honored to have been invited to give the sermon as the 2013 Spring Term Jameson Jones Visiting Preacher at Iliff School of Theology, in Denver, Colorado. The title of my sermon is "'With Hardship Comes Ease' (Q 94:5): The Voice of Consolation in the Qur'an." My sermon will reflect on the consoling nature of the … Continue reading 2013 Spring Term Jameson Jones Visiting Preacher at Iliff School of Theology
A Jihad for Justice: Honoring the Life and Work of Amina Wadud
In preparation for the conference, Juliane Hammer, Kecia Ali and I collected and edited a volume of essays, articles, art, and poems in honor of Amina Wadud to present to her at the conference. A Jihad for Justice: Honoring the Life and Work of Amina Wadud. We are distributing the book online for free in … Continue reading A Jihad for Justice: Honoring the Life and Work of Amina Wadud
Muslim Women and the Challenge of Authority Conference Boston March 2012
(description) Amina Wadud's Keynote Speech Amina Wadud Professor Emerita of Islamic Studies The Authority of Experience Islamic mysticism or tasawwuf confirms the necessity of experience for determining what constitute the authority of authenticity. It is contrasted to elaborated constructs often developed in abstraction by the more legalistic thinkers. In the 21st century Muslim women human … Continue reading Muslim Women and the Challenge of Authority Conference Boston March 2012
Lecture at Boston University on Early Pious Women
Laury Silvers, University of Toronto Disappearing Women: Hafsa bint Sirin and the Textual Seclusion of Early Pious and Sufi Women Thursday, February 16, 4:30pm CURA (10 Lenox St., Brookline, MA) First Floor Conference Room Within a few centuries of Muhammad's death, women disappear almost entirely from Muslim biographical literature and mystical and ethical manuals. Rkia … Continue reading Lecture at Boston University on Early Pious Women
American Academy of Religion 2011
The annual American Academy of Religion conference is being held this coming weekend (Nov. 19-22) in San Francisco. As part of the Rethinking Islamic Studies Series, Gordon Newby (Emory Univ.) and I have organized a pre-conference workshop entitled Gender, Sexuality and Bodies in the Text. In the workshop, Newby, Aisha Geissinger (Carleton Univ.), Kecia Ali … Continue reading American Academy of Religion 2011
The Sufi Mysteries
Please visit http://www.llsilvers.com for more about my mystery series set in 10th century Baghdad: The Sufi Mysteries available on Amazon. You'll find: Summaries of The Lover and what is coming up next in The Jealous Historical background on the settings, characters, and situations in the novels A map of Baghdad showing where the characters live … Continue reading The Sufi Mysteries