Women’s Voices in Muslim–Christian Dialogue

Dear Colleagues,

Women’s voices in the academy, religious communities, and society are crucial. Yet. they too often remain hidden. Scholars such as Catherine Laguna (Freeing Theology: the Essentials of Theology from a Feminist Perspective, 1993), Leila Ahmed (Women, Gender and Islam, 1993), Catherine Cornile (Women and Interreligious Dialogue, 2013), Aysha Hidyatullah (Feminist Edges of the Qur’an, 2014), Susan Hayward and Kathleen Marshall (Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding: Illuminating the Unseen, 2015), and, more recently, Firoza Jussawalla and Doaa Omran (Muslim Women’s Writings from across South and Southeast Asia, 2022) have sought to bring forward women’s research in the fields of sacred texts, theology, ethics, religious practice, literature, cultural studies, political thought, and all other related areas of the humanities.

Moreover, these volumes have noted how women’s studies cultivate synergies between scholarship, practice, and contextual perspectives and, as such, have had a transformative impact on the academy, religious communities, and society. Furthermore, we observe how they inject depth and innovation into these domains by engaging in hermeneutical companionships—that is, dialogue with others within their tradition and of other religious traditions.

This Special Issue endeavors to illuminate these critical approaches with essays by Muslim and Christian women thought leaders and practitioners of intra-/interfaith dialogue.

We seek contributions from Muslim and Christian scholars who have worked with various dialogue groups as a part of their own research and teaching. The essays may be drawn from topics in theology, ethics, religious practice, cultural studies, and socio-political theory.

Research areas for original articles may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Interreligious learning between Muslims and Christian women;
• Discerning the religious mandate for dialogue;
• Women’s socio-political movements in local and national settings: we encourage to geared toward movements that are relevant to Muslim-Christian encounters or engagements;
• Historical studies of Muslim and Christian women’s dialogue efforts;
• Social justice concerns of Muslim and Christian women;
• Models for Dialogue Praxis "initiated" by Muslim and Christian women, or models for dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Some local or national cases could be showcased.

Tentative timeline:

Deadline for abstract submission: January 1, 2025

Deadline for full manuscript submission: August 1, 2025

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Prof. Dr. Marianne Farina ([email protected]), or to the Assistant Editor ([email protected]) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References:

Afsaruddin, Asma. 2023. The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brecht, Mara. 2014. Virtues in Dialogue. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Cornille, Catherine, and Jillian Maxey, eds. 2013. Women and Interreligious Dialogue. Vol. 5. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Farina. Marianne. 2017. Sacred Conversations and the Evolution of Dialogue. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Hayward, Susan and Katherine Marshall. 2015. Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hidayatullah, Aysha. 2014. Feminist Edges of the Quran. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jussawalla, Firoza and Doaa Omran. 2022. Muslim Women’s Writings from across South and Southeast Asia. Thames, Oxfordshire: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

O'Neill, Maura. Mending a Torn World: Women in Interreligious Dialogue. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 2015.

Prof. Dr. Fatimah Husein
Prof. Dr. Marianne Farina
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• dialogue
• comparative studies
• feminist perspectives
• social justice
• interreligious learning
• women’s history