Women, Islam, and Activism

Jamillah Karim is an author and former Professor of Religion at Spelman College. She specializes in Islam and Muslims in the United States (African American, South Asian and Arab), Islamic Feminism, Race and Ethnicity, and Immigration and Transnational Identity. She investigates what it means to negotiate Islamic ideals of community (ummah) against America’s race and class hierarchies. Jamillah also researches and writes on how American Muslim women navigate gendered mosque space. She is the author of several published articles including “To Be Black, Female, and Muslim: A Candid Conversation about Race in the American Ummah” and “Islam for the People: Muslim Men’s Voices on Race and Ethnicity in the American Ummah.” Jamillah obtained her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at Duke University where she also did her undergraduate work in electrical engineering.