Scholars' Convo: Contesting Muhammad

Kecia Ali, a renowned scholar on Islamic law, gender and religion, will deliver a Scholar's Convocation at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 101.

Her talk, titled "Contesting Muhammad: Contemporary Controversies in Historical Perspective," will focus on modern debates about the Prophet Muhammad and his legacy.

Ali, the College's 2015-16 Gates Lecturer in Religious Studies, will give her Gates lecture the night before. She will present "Tradition, Traditions, Traditioning: Writing on Women and Islam," at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Faulconer Galler, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts. Ali will be speaking about the challenges of writing on gender, women, and Islam in a way that does justice to the diversity of perspectives in and cultural settings of Muslim communities.

Both events are free and open to the public.

"Professor Ali will provide the kind of background we need to analyze and understand some of the recent controversies surrounding the Prophet Muhammad," said Caleb Elfenbein, assistant professor in the departments of history and religious studies.

"She will discuss the history of representations of Muhammad in the West as well as in Muslim communities and how those histories, especially the way they interact, affects contemporary events," Elfenbein added. "Her talk will be especially informative regarding Muhammad's relationship with his wives."

Ali's research focuses on Islamic law, women and gender, ethics, and biography. She is the author of six books including her most recent publication, The Lives of Muhammad, about modern Muslim and non-Muslim biographies of Islam’s prophet, which will inform her lecture. She is also the author of Sexual Ethics in Islam, which provides a feminist reading of Islamic scriptural, legal, and ethical traditions as they relate to human gender and sexuality.

A professor of Islam at Boston University, Ali has held research and teaching fellowships at Brandeis University and Harvard Divinity School. She is an active member of the American Academy of Religion and currently serves as president of the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics.

The Scholars' Convocation series was established in the late 1970s in response to Grinnell College's move to an individually advised curriculum. The College, aiming to create a common educational experience shared by the entire Grinnell College community, started the Scholars' Convocation series to offer an accessible intellectual encounter that transcends disciplinary boundaries.

Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. Rosenfield Center has accessible parking in the lot to the east. Room 101 is equipped with an induction hearing loop system. Faulconer Gallery is wheelchair accessible, with accessible parking available at the south entrance to the Bucksbaum Center. You can request accommodations from Conference Operations and Events.