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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Brigitte Jelen

photo of Brigitte Jelen

Known For: Assistant Professor, Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey
Country: Turkey

About

Dr. Brigitte Jelen received her BA in Social Sciences at the University of Notre-Dame de Namur in Belmont, California, and her Ph.D. in Modern European History at the University of California Irvine. Her thesis, entitled Immigrant In/Visibility: Portuguese and North Africans in Post-Colonial France, discusses the political, religious, cultural, and urban visibility of immigrants in France from a historical perspective. She has also worked on religion and secularism in the European context and the visibility of hijabi women in European public spaces. In the past three years, since her move to Istanbul, Ms. Jelen’s research interests have broadened to include studies of contemporary Turkish society, focusing on the new Islamic bourgeoisie. Her more recent work focuses on elite Islamic women in Turkey; it was published as “Educated, Independent, and Covered: the Professional Aspirations and Experiences of University-Educated Hijabi in Contemporary Turkey” in Women Studies International Forum (2011). Currently, she is working on women theologians and Islamic feminism in Turkey. She has written an article on “Women in the Diyanet” (2011).  Ms. Jelen’s teaching and research interests include Urban Sociology, Sociology of Religion and Culture, Contemporary European History, and Women Studies and Cultural Studies.

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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.