
Mahjabeen Dhala
Adjunct Professor
Biography
Mahjabeen Dhala studies women's contributions to Islamic doctrine, practice, and devotional piety. She is a presidential scholar and a PhD candidate in the Department of Sacred Texts and Their Interpretation at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Her dissertation looks at the seventh-century Sermon of Fatima to trace early Shia activist voices, especially those of women. In her capacity as a religious speaker and a spiritual guide, she has traveled widely, thus gaining a unique insight into the concerns of Muslim women both in the global North and the South.
Expertise
- Islamic Studies
- Women in/and Islam
- Islamic history and law
- Qur'an and Hadith Studies
Research Areas
- Theology and Practice
- Women's Studies in Religion
Education
- Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, PhD Cand, 2020
- Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, MA in Islamic Studies, 2017
Prior Experience
- Newhall Fellow in Women's Studies in Religion, ABSW Berkeley
- Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies, CDSP Berkeley
- Student Coordinator, Center for Islamic Studies at The GTU, Berkeley
Awards & Distinctions
Arthur Vining Davis Award for Interreligious research, 2019
GTU Presidential Scholarship
Selected Publications
"The Rib: resurrecting Skeletons, re-creating Eve,” in Beyond Words: Art Inspired by Sacred Texts. Berkeley: Center for the Arts and Religion, 2019.
“Five Foundational Women in the Qur’an: Rereading their Stories from a Shia Female Perspective,” in Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology, Vol. 5, no. 2, (2019) © 2019 by the Graduate Theological Union.