nadia maria el cheikh
American University of Beirut, History and Archaeology, Faculty Member
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Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Arab-Byzantine relations in the Medieval Mediterranean, Abbasid History, Islamic Studies, Identity, Islamic History, and 14 moreIslam, Islamic Art, History of Slavery, Byzantine History, Late Antiquity, Qur'anic Studies, Medieval Women, Medieval Islamic History, Borders and Frontiers, Frontier Studies, History of the Middle East - Historiography, Arabo-Byzantine Studies, Byzantium and Islam, and Arab-Islamic History and Civilization and their relations with Byzantium edit
In this thought-provoking book Nadia Maria El Cheikh examines the roles of representations of women and sexuality in textual rhetoric of legitimation and self-definition during thefirst fewcenturies of theAbbasiddynasty... more
In this thought-provoking book Nadia Maria El Cheikh examines the roles of representations of women and sexuality in textual rhetoric of legitimation and self-definition during thefirst fewcenturies of theAbbasiddynasty (750–1258CE).Havingcome topower by overthrowing the Umayyads (661–750 CE), the Abbasids initially sought to legitimate themselves by associating the former dynasty with the resurgence of attitudes and practices said to have been characteristic of pre-Islamic Arabian paganism, or jahiliyya. In a number of texts from the first few centuries of Abbasid rule, the jahiliyya was initially constructed as a time of impurity and corruption, and later as one of ignorance and barbarism. Such representations were less concerned about Arabian paganism per se than with defining what it meant to be Arab and Muslim, as well as a Sunni imperial power. El Cheikh points out that this rhetoric is gendered, as negative attributes such as excess, passion, and disorder, which are said to have characterized the jahiliyya, are also associated in these texts with women in general, as well as with particular female figures. Rhetoric of this type came to be applied not only to pagans before Islam, but to any group regarded as threatening, such asmovements deemed heretical by Sunnis or military rivals such as the Byzantine Empire. The introduction,which gives a clear overview of the scope of the book, begins with the well-known story of the so-called harlots of Hadramaut. These women are said to have openly celebrated when they heard that the prophet Muhammad was dead, and the first caliph AbuBakr reportedly ordered that they be cruelly punished. This tale expresses fears about the possible resurgence of paganism, uses female figures to represent the jahiliyya as diametrically opposed to Islam, and provides an object lesson in which order is restored through the violent suppression of these women. It is an apt illustration of El Cheikh’s contention that “women, gender relations, and sexuality are at the heart of the cultural
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Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257. By Taef El-Azhari. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019. Pp. xix + 449. $140, £90.
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<p>In this chapter, El Cheikh explores how Abbasid courtiers during the ninth to eleventh centuries regulated their speech and gestures in order to impress and to be persuasive. The chapter demonstrates how courtiers conformed to... more
<p>In this chapter, El Cheikh explores how Abbasid courtiers during the ninth to eleventh centuries regulated their speech and gestures in order to impress and to be persuasive. The chapter demonstrates how courtiers conformed to prescriptive codes of literary cultivation known as <italic>adab</italic> and reveals how courtiers sometimes managed to subvert or elude them.</p>
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Some books may have been written about the history of AUB, but no one has yet attempted to collect the histories of this University, with their intertwining perspectives and complexities. To mark this year’s 150th anniversary, however,... more
Some books may have been written about the history of AUB, but no one has yet attempted to collect the histories of this University, with their intertwining perspectives and complexities. To mark this year’s 150th anniversary, however, scholars from AUB and other academic institutions, as well as independent researchers have come together to tell some of the stories of this resilient and ever-evolving institution. The result is One Hundred and Fifty, AUB’s main published academic work related to the sesquicentennial celebrations, which goes on sale this week with a book launch on Wednesday, March 2. Edited by AUB Associate Provost Nadia El Cheikh and Professors Lina Choueiri and Bilal Orfali, the book includes 26 chapters highlighting various aspects of the history of the American University of Beirut. This book is for anyone curious about the history of the University and some of its remarkable personalities. The book is available for purchase through AUB Press.
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On May 15 and 16,1995, Foundation Rene Moawwad and Friedrich-NaumannStiftung sponsored a workshop entitled "The Women's Movement: The Second Wave". The purpose of the meeting, as stated by the organizers, was to explain the... more
On May 15 and 16,1995, Foundation Rene Moawwad and Friedrich-NaumannStiftung sponsored a workshop entitled "The Women's Movement: The Second Wave". The purpose of the meeting, as stated by the organizers, was to explain the absence of the younger generation from the scene of women's activism.
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The personal status of the Lebanese is governed by the respective laws of the country's eighteen recognized religious communities. Article 9 of the Lebanese constitution says that the State shall "safeguard for the citizens of... more
The personal status of the Lebanese is governed by the respective laws of the country's eighteen recognized religious communities. Article 9 of the Lebanese constitution says that the State shall "safeguard for the citizens of whatever religion or sect, due respect to their personal status code and their spiritual interests.'" In addition to the Christian and Jewish communities, the Lebanese constitution recognizes three main Muslim communities, the Sunni, the Shiite and the Druze. Each of these communities possesses its own jurisdiction and sole competence in all matters of personal status. Personal status rules are primarily shari ' a based in that shari'a courts have jurisdiction with regard to the Sunni Hanafi and Shiite Ja'farl sects while the Druze have a Codified Personal Status Law promulgated in 1948 and amended in 1959. The various confessional laws, both Muslim and Christian, contain fundamental differences. Complications arising from having a variety of laws regulating the same issue is particularly acute in the context of marriage between persons belonging to different sects. In order to provide some remedy to this situation, the president of the republic presented the cabinet with a detailed draft of a facultative civil personal status code in February 1998.
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Law and Political Science
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The reign of al-Muqtadir (295-320/908-32) is a crucial epoch in Abbasid history. Four scholars question the picture of decline attached to this period, exploring the formal and informal power relationships that shaped politics at the... more
The reign of al-Muqtadir (295-320/908-32) is a crucial epoch in Abbasid history. Four scholars question the picture of decline attached to this period, exploring the formal and informal power relationships that shaped politics at the court of this caliph.
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Par une analyse des textes arabes d'Heraclius, empereur de Byzance de 610 a 641, l'A. etudie la presentation d'Heraclius dans un contexte nouveau comme exemple des methodes de l'islam dans la construction d'images, et... more
Par une analyse des textes arabes d'Heraclius, empereur de Byzance de 610 a 641, l'A. etudie la presentation d'Heraclius dans un contexte nouveau comme exemple des methodes de l'islam dans la construction d'images, et l'emploi de ces images pour legitimer la mission prophetique de Muhammad. En demontrant que l'image d'Heraclius est d'abord attachee au role de legitimation qu'on lui fait jouer, la dicussion considere d'abord la caracterisation du personnage d'Heraclius dans les sources musulmanes primitives. Puis il analyse sa fonction de «temoin» ideal de Muhammad et de la «umma» de ce dernier.