Laury Silvers

“Reconstructions of the Past: Hafsa bint Sirin” (8 blog entries published on Feminism and Religion)

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)

Laury Silvers

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

Laury Silvers

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

Laury Silvers

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

Laury Silvers

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