Muslim Women: Past and Present

Recommend a Muslim Woman

Throughout the ages, from the earliest days of Islam to contemporary times today, Muslim women have been and continue to be active leaders in their communities and countries across the world. This directory is a growing archive of leading Muslim women scholars, activists, writers, politicians, artists, religious and spiritual leaders, civil society leaders and more. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting Muslim women to be featured through our recommendation form.

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Aylin Aykan

photo of Aylin Aykan

Known For: Pianist and Composer
Country: Germany

About

Aylin Aykan is a pianist and composer, born in Munich to a Turkish family from Istanbul. Ms. Aykan studied philosophy and musical science at Ludwig Maximilian University. She received a Concert degree in Chamber Music at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich where she studied piano with John Strathern. According to critics, her musical style shows both “intelligence and intuition”.

Ms. Aykan’s “search for her roots” let her focus shift away from the typical classical music genre. Over the past decade, Ms. Aykan has become known through her cross-cultural projects, specifically her programs which present musical connections across different cultures in both an understandable and entertaining way.

Ms. Aykan co-produced the poetic/musical program Pesüs, which played on the border separating Greek and Turkish Cyprus. From 2001 to 2004 she organized the highly successful music program for the cultural festival Turkish October in Munich. In 2004 the festival was awarded by the Körber Foundation as a “German-Turkish Dialogue Project.” In 2007 she ran a workshop for “Cross-Cultural Chamber Music” in Rotterdam, NL.

Ms. Aykan’s first performance of “voices, shadows,” a commissioned composition for “Deutschlandfunk broadcasting,” took place in Cologne, Germany in 2007. One of her most recent projects is a program where classical western and traditional oriental music encounter in arrangements of religious and mystical tunes for piano, church organ, oud and voice. First presented for the international “Daniel Pearl Music Days 2008” at a Protestant church in Munich, the project is meant to overcome borders and be expanded to as many different houses of worship as possible.

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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women alphabetically by their first names. Many Muslim names have alternative spellings once rendered into English so if you cannot find the name you are looking for, please try the general search tab where you can enter keywords of your choice.
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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women chronologically by the Common Era century. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women by their Country. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women leaders by entering the keyword(s) of your choice. If you cannot find a particular woman that you are looking for, please let us know by completing our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.