Montgomery College Presents Women in Islam with Maria M. Dakake

Dr. Maria Massi Kakake, Professor George Mason University

Montgomery College’s Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia presents Dr. Maria Massi Dakake speaking on Women in Islam Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at Globe Hall, Germantown Campus. The fall 2013 Speaker Series includes timely, stimulating topics delivered by today’s leading experts in international affairs, the arts, politics and economics. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dakake is an author and Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies at George Mason University. Muslim women are often the topic of controversy, particularly in the Western world. In this lecture, Dr. Dakake will discuss many of these issues, including the choice of wearing a hijab, what the Qur’an says about women, women’s rights, and the role of women in society.

Maria Massi Dakake holds a B.A. from Cornell University (1990) and an M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2000) in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. She is currently Chair and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University and is a founding member and director of the interdisciplinary Islamic Studies program.

Her research interests and publications lie in the fields of Islamic intellectual history, with a particular interest in Shi`ite and Sufi traditions, Quran and commentary, and in women’s religious experience. Her book, The Charismatic Community: Shi`ite Identity in Early Islam, was published by SUNY Press in 2008.

She has published several articles on women’s spirituality in Islam, and her lengthy commentary on the Qur’anic Sūrah 4: Women will be published spring 2014 in the Harper Collins Study Quran, a collaborative project for which she served as associate editor.

This program is hosted with the MC Germantown Library, as part of the Bridging Cultures Muslim Journeys grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.

Schedule of remaining speakers:

Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.: William Chang: Classical Pianist and MC Music Professor
Classical Piano Concert William Chang, Montgomery College Germantown music professor, will present a music recital featuring four classical piano compositions: Invitation to the Dance, op. 65 by Carl Maria von Weber; Rondo a capriccio, op. 129 (Rage over Lost Penny) by Ludwig van Beethoven; Scherzo, op. 31 by Frederic Chopin; and Carnaval, op. 9 by Robert Schumann.

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