The Universal Imam Hussain: Historical and Literary Perspectives

Coinciding with the anniversary of the tragic battle of Karbala, this webinar will discuss the enduring place of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Hussain bin Ali, as a symbol for justice, liberation and sacrifice in the Muslim literary, historical and theological tradition.

Syed Akbar Hyder is Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Islamic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as the Executive Editor of the Journal of Urdu Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and his primary research interests lie in South Asian aesthetics, particularly those related to Urdu literature and mystical Muslim traditions, Shii devotional practices in various parts of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, North America and Europe, and teaching classes in Comparative Literature, Religious Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Aesthetics. His first book, Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory, reveals multiple and often conflicting interpretations of the Karbala story, and investigates the varying ways in which the story is used for personal and communal identity in South Asia. He is also the author of A City, an Island, and a Jail: Qurratulain Hyder on the Move, which focuses on the devotional lores around Karbala, forthcoming, 2021.

Mahjabeen Dhala is a theologian, community leader, and Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Her work focusses on the intersection of Islamic history and women’s studies to explore the voices of pre-modern Muslim women scholars and activists for social justice. Her dissertation was on the Sermon of Fatima which she argues is one of the cold cases from early Islamic history which remains understudied in contemporary academic feminist research.

This event will be moderated by Stanford History Professor Robert Crews and Abbasi Program Associate Director Farah El-Sharif.