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Why Study Mawlids?

ILEM Istanbul Talks 8

ILEM Istanbul Talks continue in May with a new speaker and an important topic! In this session, Marion Holmes Katz will give a talk titled “Why Study Mawlids?” and the talk will be moderated by Ömer Faruk Yeni.  

What can mawlids – in the sense of ceremonies commemorating of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the genre of texts produced for performance in such ceremonies – contribute to the study of Islam? In this talk, Marion Katz will argue that mawlids have historically thrived in the interstices of the religious disciplines (law, Sufism, theology) that have traditionally structured the academic study of pre-modern Islam, usefully challenging our categories and assumptions.  Also, by reflecting on the contributions of ritual practitioners who were not always ‘ulama’, they will discuss how mawlids enrich our understanding of the different forms of Islamic ritual authority and expertise.

Featured Speaker

Marion Holmes Katz

Marion Holmes Katz is a Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at NYU, where she has been teaching since 2002. She received a BA from Yale University and a PhD from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. Previously, she taught at Franklin and Marshall College and Mount Holyoke College. Her research revolves around issues of Islamic law, ethics, gender, and ritual.  Her publications include Body of Text: The Emergence of the Sunni Law of Ritual Purity (SUNY Press, 2002), The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Routledge, 2007), Prayer in Islamic Thought and Practice (Cambridge, 2013), Women in the Mosque (Columbia University Press, 2014), and Wives and Work: Islamic Law and Ethics Before Modernity (Columbia University Press, 2022). Besides, she has many journal articles and book chapters. In addition to her studies, she had fellowships at several institutions such as the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (2014-2015); American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship (2014-2015); Carnegie Fellowship for the project “Contesting the Mosque: Debates over Muslim Women’s Ritual Access” (2006-8), and American Institute for Yemeni Studies fellowship (2000).

Ömer Faruk Yeni 

Ömer Faruk Yeni is currently working as a project coordinator and editor for several arts, media and cultural organisations. After being graduated from Business Administration at Istanbul University, he completed his MA in Arts Management at Middlesex University, London in the field of Arts and Heritage Tourism Industry where he extensively worked with the leading museums, festivals and art galleries. As an independent researcher, he has many non-academic works on the spiritual and cultural scene of London, Istanbul, Granada and Fes. 

Contact: For questions about the program, send an email to foreignrelations@ilem.org.tr

*This event will be available in English.

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Program

Her ay gerçekleştirilen ILEM Istanbul Talks programında sosyal bilimler alanında çalışmalarını sürdüren akademisyenler, bir moderatör eşliğinde konuşmalarını gerçekleştirmektedir. Serinin sekizinci oturumunda Marion Katz “Why Study Mawlids” başlıklı bir konuşma gerçekleştirecek ve konuşmanın moderatörlüğünü Ömer Faruk Yeni yürütecektir.

*Program dili İngilizce’dir.