
Dr. Zainab Alwani is an Instructor at the Qurtiba Institute in Sterling, VA. She received her Ph.D. in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh and Usul Al-Fiqh) from the International Islamic University in Malaysia. Her Ph.D dissertation focused on the implementation of the Maqasid al Shariah: family issues in the American Muslim family. She is currently the Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Howard University School of Divinity.
Dr. Alwani is the first female jurist to serve on the board for the Fiqh Council of North America. Her research focuses on Islamic law, family, gender, the relationship between civil and religious laws in the area of family, Quranic studies, and seeking to contribute to a theology of tolerance.
Dr. Alwani has authored and co-authored a wide variety of publications ranging from textbooks to scholarly articles. Her latest book publications include “Muslim Women and Global Challenges: Seeking Change Through a Quranic Textual Approach and the Prophetic Model”, “The Development of the Islamic Legal Theory and The Objectives of Shariah: A Conversation with Taha Al alwani”.
Her scholarly articles include Aisha’s (ra) commentaries on Hadith; Abu- Hamid Al-Ghazali and his Methodology; The Qur’anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations; “The Islamic Model on Conflict Resolution” in Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War; and “The Quranic Model on Social Change: Family Structure as a Method of Social Reform”. Her forthcoming books and scholarly articles will be “The Applications of Maqasid al Shariah: Dealing with the American Muslim Family Issues,” “Muslim Minorities and the Registration of Civil Marriages,” “Women’s Religious Scholarship: Historical trends and their Contemporary Implications”, and the phrase “Domestic Violence” in the Oxford University Press: The [Oxford] Encyclopedia of Islam and Women.
Dr. Alwani is a member and a board member of various national organizations including Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights – KARAMAH, The Abrahamic Roundtable at the Washington National Cathedral, and the American Academy of Religion (AAR).
Dr. Alwani is the first female jurist to serve on the board for the Fiqh Council of North America. Her research focuses on Islamic law, family, gender, the relationship between civil and religious laws in the area of family, Quranic studies, and seeking to contribute to a theology of tolerance.
Dr. Alwani has authored and co-authored a wide variety of publications ranging from textbooks to scholarly articles. Her latest book publications include “Muslim Women and Global Challenges: Seeking Change Through a Quranic Textual Approach and the Prophetic Model”, “The Development of the Islamic Legal Theory and The Objectives of Shariah: A Conversation with Taha Al alwani”.
Her scholarly articles include Aisha’s (ra) commentaries on Hadith; Abu- Hamid Al-Ghazali and his Methodology; The Qur’anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations; “The Islamic Model on Conflict Resolution” in Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War; and “The Quranic Model on Social Change: Family Structure as a Method of Social Reform”. Her forthcoming books and scholarly articles will be “The Applications of Maqasid al Shariah: Dealing with the American Muslim Family Issues,” “Muslim Minorities and the Registration of Civil Marriages,” “Women’s Religious Scholarship: Historical trends and their Contemporary Implications”, and the phrase “Domestic Violence” in the Oxford University Press: The [Oxford] Encyclopedia of Islam and Women.
Dr. Alwani is a member and a board member of various national organizations including Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights – KARAMAH, The Abrahamic Roundtable at the Washington National Cathedral, and the American Academy of Religion (AAR).