Zainab Alwani
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962
Baghdad, Iraq
|
| Nationality | Iraqi-American |
| Alma mater | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| Occupation | Islamic scholar |
| Known for | First woman to serve on Fiqh Council of North America |
| Parent | Taha Jabir Alawani |
| Relatives | Ruqaia Al-Alwani |
Zainab Alwani is an American activist and Islamic scholar. She is Founding Director and Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Howard University School of Divinity.[1]
Zainab Alwani was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1962.[2][3] She is the daughter of Taha Jabir Alalwani.[4] Alwani and her family were forced to flee Iraq when she was 7. The family went to Egypt and later Saudi Arabia.[3]
As a young woman, Alwani studied at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.[5][3] She received her PhD in Islamic jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh) from the International Islamic UniversityinMalaysia.[6][5] Alwani is also the first female jurist to sit on the board of the Fiqh Council of North America.[7][2][6][8]
Alwani is an activist for the rights of Muslim women and children.[2] She is active in continuing her father's thought and approach to minority fiqh.[9] She specializes in Islamic jurisprudence, Quranic studies, the relationship between Islamic and civil law, and women and the family in Islam.[1][3][9] Her sister is the Islamic scholar Ruqaia Al-Alwani.[10] Hadia Mubarak identifies Zainab and Ruqaia as part of a growing body of female Muslim Qur'anic commentators.[11]
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