A History of Islam in 21 Women

Introduction

1 Khadija (ca. 560–619): The First Believer

2 Fatima (ca. 612–633): Prophet Muhammad’s Flesh and Blood

3 Aisha (ca. 615–678): “Get Half of Your Religion From Her”

4 Rabia al-Adawiyya (ca. 717–801): The Embarrassment of Riches, and its Discontents

5 Fatima of Nishapur (ca. 1000–1088): Keeper of the Faith

6 Arwa of Yemen (ca. 1050–1138): The Queen of Sheba Redux

7 Terken Khatun (ca. 1205–1281): Doing Well and Doing Good

8 Shajara’-al-Durr (d. 1257): Perils of Power, Between Caliphs and Mamluks

9 Sayyida al-Hurra of Tétouan (ca. 1492 –ca. 1560): The Free Queen

10 Pari Khanum (1548–1578): A Golden Link in the Safavid Chain of Command

11 Nur Jahan (1577–1645): Light of the World

12 Safiye Sultan (ca. 1550–ca. 1619): A Mother of Many Kings

13 Tajul-Alam Safiatuddin Syah (1612–1675): Diamonds Are Not Forever

14 Tahereh (ca. 1814–1852): Heroine or Heretic?

15 Nana Asmau (1793–1864): Jihad and Sisterhood

16 Mukhlisa Bubi (1869–1937): Educator and Jurist

17 Halidé Edip (ca. 1884–1964): Author of the New Turkey

18 Noor Inayat Khan (1914–1944): The Anxiety of Belonging

19 Umm Kulthum (ca. 1904–1975): Lodestar of Union

20 Zaha Hadid (1950–2016): Curves in Glass and Concrete

21 Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017): The Princess of Mathematics

Afterword

Notes

Further Reading

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index

Hossein Kamaly is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary. A scholar of the Middle East, focusing on the history of ideas, he has previously taught at Barnard College and Columbia University, and is the author of God and Man in Tehran. He lives in New York.

'Here in all their gutsy glory are women whose voices have not received the prominence that is their due within the story of Islam... A History of Islam in 21 Women is an act of reclamation on several fronts. For Muslim women, it provides an empowering and exhilarating genealogy of strong forebears whom they can connect to their contemporary journeys of empowerment. For Western readers, it exposes the untruths that have characterized Muslim women as deferential beings in need of rescue.' New York Times