Archetypes of Feminine Spirituality in Early Islam
by:
Dr. Atif Khalil
when:
Sunday, September 27, 2015 - 15:00 to 16:00
held at:
Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work Wilfrid Laurier University 120 Duke Street West Kitchener, Ontario N2H 3W8
The German Indologist Moriz Winternitz (d. 1937) once observed that “women have always been the best friends of religion, but religion has not generally been a friend of women.” While conventional views would suggest that the sentiment is perhaps nowhere more applicable than in the case of Islam, such views often reflect an ignorance of the history of powerful and influential women who have appeared throughout the centuries in the Islamic world as spiritual guides, teachers, models and mentors – both for women and men. By focussing on three central figures from early Muslim history – Khadija, Fatima and Rabia – the lecture will shed light on some central archetypes of female spirituality in Islam, and their revered place in both the Sufi and broader Islamic tradition.
Dr. Atif Khalil is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge's Department of Religious Studies where he teaches courses on Islamic theology, philosophy, mysticism and world religions. His main area of research lies in Sufi thought, with secondary interests in comparative mysticism, inter-religious relations and the perennial philosophy. His articles have appeared in Studies in Religion, the Journal of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Sacred Web, the Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies and the Muslim World. While a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, he co-founded the Judeo-Islamic Contemplative Circle with Rabbi Aubrey Glazer to create an apolitical space for Jews, Muslims and others to meditate over Jewish and Muslim mystical texts together in a spirit of ecumenical dialogue and friendship.