Ingrid Mattson

Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario
1349 Western Road, London, ON N6G 1H3 Canada
1-519-438-7224
imattson@uwo.ca

Present Position (Since 2012)

Professor of Islamic Studies
London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies
Faculty of Theology
Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario

Previous Position (From 1998-2012)

Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT: Director of the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations; Founder and former Director of Islamic Chaplaincy Program; Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations; Associate Editor of The Muslim World.

Education

University of Chicago, Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1999
University of Waterloo, B.A. (joint honors), Philosophy & Fine Arts, 1987

Teaching

• Professor, Huron University College, 2012-current
  Courses: Islamic Ethics; History of Islamic Law & Legal Theory; Interpreting the Qur’an; History of Christian-Muslim Relations; Classical Islamic Thought; Islamic Thought, Culture and Practices; Studies in Qur’an, Sunnah and Hadith; Spirituality of Muslim Women.
• Professor, Hartford Seminary, 1998-2012
  Graduate level courses taught include: Introduction to Islamic Law; Contemporary Islamic Ethic; Islamic Ritual and Family Law; The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, Early Islamic History; The Qur’an and its Place in Muslim Society; Tafsir; Current State of Hadith Studies; Readings in Hadith; Readings in Arabic Texts; Readings in Islamic Theology; Spirituality of Muslim Women; Building Abrahamic Partnerships (co-taught); Dialogue in a World of Difference.
• Visiting Professor, Osgoode Law School, Toronto, Winter, 2003
  Course: Legal Values: Introduction to Islamic Law.
• Lecturer, Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago, 1997
  Developed and taught course: Early Islamic Culture, to Institute members.
• Teaching Assistant, Dept. of NELC, the University of Chicago, 1994-1995
  Assistant for courses: Islamic Civilization and Elementary Arabic.

Current Research: The Hurma Project

Academic Publications

• “The Believer is Never Impure: Islam and the Understanding of the Embodied Person,” in Treating the Person: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Medicine and the Body. Edited by John Fitzgerald, Ashley Moyse and Ryan Nash. Routledge, 2019.
• “How the Sunni Community Reads the Qur’an,” in Communities of the Qur’an: Dialogue, Debate and Diversity in the 21st Century. Edited by Emran El-Badawi and Paula Sanders. Oneworld, 2019.
• “The World in Which We Respond to God’s Word,” in The Future of Interfaith Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Encounters through A Common Word, edited by Yazid Said and Lejla Demiri. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
• “Gender and Sexuality in Islamic Bioethics,” in Islamic Bioethics, Current Issues and Challenges, edited by Alireza Bagheri and Khalid Alali. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing, 2017.
• Islam and Democracy: Prospects and Pathways. Coeditor with Paul Nesbitt-Larking and Nawaz Tahir. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.
• “Could Civil Marriage Help ‘Preserve Religion’ in Muslim Majority Countries?” in Islam and Democracy: Prospects and Pathways, edited by Paul Nesbitt-Larking, Ingrid Mattson and Nawaz Tahir. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.
• “Of Fences and Neighbors: an Islamic Perspective on Interfaith Engagement for Peace,” written for the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group and the multi-faith chaplaincy at the University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ; to be published in a 2014 collection; available online at: ingridmattson.org.
• “How to Read the Qur’an,” essay for The HarperCollins Study Quran. First ed. Ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr. San Francisco: Harper One, 2015.
• “The Islamic View of Consumption and Material Development in the Light of Environmental Pollution,” in Islam, Christianity and the Environment, Mabda English Monograph Series no. 9 (Amman, Jordan: Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, 2011), 1-17.
• “Zakat in America: the Evolving Role of Charity in Community Cohesion,” published by the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 2010; also available at: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/LakeFamilyInstitute/docs/LakeLectures/Lake%20Lecture%20-%20Mattson%20-%202010.pdf.
• “Heaven’s Gate: How Muslim Women Open or Close Doors for Their Sisters,” in Portraits of Women in Islam: Comparative Perspectives and Challenges, ed. Sue Sanders, Conference Proceedings (Chicago: Saint Xavier University, 2009); also available at: https://ingridmattson.org/article/heavens-gate-how-muslim-women-open-or-close- doors-for-their-sisters/
• The Story of the Qur’an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life, (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008).  Revised 2^nd edition, 2013.
• “The Road Back to Paradise,” in Holy Ground: a gathering of voices on caring for creation. Ed. Lindsay Mosely. San Francisco: Sierra Club Publications, 2008.
• “Debating Form and Function in Muslim Women’s Leadership,” presented at the conference “Sisters: Women, Religion and Leadership in Christianity and Islam,” at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, March, 2003. Paper available at: https://ingridmattson.org/article/can-a-woman-be-an-imam/.
• “Women, Gender and Family Law:  Early period 7^th-late 18^th centuries,” in Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures, v. 2, ed. Suad Joseph (Leiden and Boston:  Brill, 2005).
• “Adoption and Fostering,” in Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures, v. 2, ed. Suad Joseph (Leiden and Boston:  Brill, 2005).
• “Mosques and Islamic Religious Organizations,” in The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, (Leiden:  Brill, 2005).
• “How Muslims use Islamic Paradigms to Define America,” in Religion and Immigration:  Christian, Jewish and Muslim Experiences in the United States,  eds. John L. Esposito, Yvonne Y. Haddad and Jane I. Smith (Altimira Press, 2003).
• “Status-Based Definitions of Need in Early Islamic Zakat and Maintenance Laws,” in Concepts of Poverty and Charity in Middle Eastern Contexts, eds. Michael Bonner, Mine Ener and Amy Singer (SUNY Press,  2003): 31-51.
• “Stopping Oppression:  an Islamic Obligation,” in September 11:  Historical, Theological and Social Perspectives, eds. Ian Markham and Ibrahim Abu-Rabi’ (Oxford:  Oneworld Publications, 2002).
• “Hunayn,” in The Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Leiden: Brill, 2001).
• “Manual Labor’” in The Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Leiden:  Brill, 2001).
• “Forgiveness and Enemies—Qur’an 60:7-9,” in Peace Skills (Leaders Guide), eds. Alice Frazer Evans and Robert Evans with Ronald S. Kraybill (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001).
• A Believing Slave is Better than an Unbeliever:  Status and Community in Early Islamic Society and Law, 1999 University of Chicago doctoral dissertation.

General Interest Publications

• “Consolation for Believers who Fear the Worst,” published April, 2020 and available at ingridmattson.org.
• “Look to Those Who Have Less” (A talk for the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition of Minnesota’s “Day on the Hill,” February 3, 2009): https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “A Call for Moral Leadership: Imagining a New Heroism (a reflection on the 2007 Pew Research Center report about Muslims in America): https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “Respecting the Qur’an (Geertz Wilders, Muslims and Pluralism): https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “Discovering (not uncovering) the Spirituality of Muslim Women,” Zion’s Herald, July/August 2005:  https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “Eating in the Name of God,” https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “The Axis of Good:  Muslims Building Alliances with other Communities of Faith,” https://ingridmattson.org/.
• “Spain and Islam: a stormy history,” The Hartford Courant, March 21, 2004.
• “Dignity and Patient Care: an Islamic Perspective,” in The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine, published on the web-site July 17, 2002. http://info.med.yale.edu/intmed/hummed/yjhm/spirit/dignity/imattson.htm.
• “Finding the Prophet in His People,” published December 18, 2002 on PBS web-site in conjunction with launch of documentary, Muhammad:  Legacy of a Prophet http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/essays/mattson.html.
• “Muhammad Still Worthy of Emulation without Visualization,” Dallas Morning News, November 9, 2002.
• “Finding the Voice of Islam,” in From the Ashes: Spiritual Responses to the Attack on America, ed. by Beliefnet, Neale Donald Walsch and Desmond Mpilo Tutu (Rodale Press, 2001).
• “Justice in Islam,” The Hartford Courant, October 21, 2001.
• “Islamic Law is Not the Monolithic Thing that Many Imagine,” Dallas Morning News, November 17, 2001.

Selected Invited Academic lectures and Research Conference Presentations

• Keynote address and summary remarks at “Halal and Tayyib” conference at the opening of the Center for Ethical Living and Learning at Zaytuna College in Berkeley, CA, March, 2019.
• “The Community of Created Things” at “Green Theology” conference at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, March, 2019.
• Presentation at international consultation on Muslim Chaplaincy held by Akademie für Islam in Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft “ in Frankfurt, Germany, January, 2019.
• “Islam in America: Civic and Religious Youth Identities,” Keynote Lecture at Respect Graduate School, Bethlehem, PA, Oct. 2017
• “Don’t Frown and Turn Away: Muslim Scholars and the Study of the Qur’an,” Keynote Lecture for “The Future of Qur’an Scholarship” conference, College of the Holy Cross, MA, April, 2016
• “Rejuvenating Islamic Theological Ethics for the Muslim Polity,” Keynote lecture at “Interfaces and Discourses: A Multidisciplinary Conference on Islamic Theology, Law and Biomedicine” at the University of Chicago, April, 2016
• “How the Qur’an Shapes the Sunni Community,” at “Communities of the Qur’an” conference at Rice University, Houston, TX, March, 2016
• “Let’s Get Real: The Body as the Locus of Ethical Action,” key note lecture at the Global Halal Conference at Michigan State University, Feb. 20, 2015.
• Series of lectures at the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Osnabrück in Germany, May, 2015
• “Status, Class and Labor Exploitation: A Human Problem, A Muslim Problem,” lecture at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, January, 2015
• Plenary panelist over three days at the Third Annual Conference on Religion and Medicine: “Responding to the Limits and the Possibilities of the Body,” Chicago, March, 2014
• “Rooting a Canadian Muslim Identity,” Emmanuel College, Toronto, January, 2013. “Religious Accommodation and the Workplace,” School of Policy Studies, Queens University, Kingston, March, 2013
• “An American Islamic Theology of Religious Freedom,” Center for Islamic Theology, Tübingen, Germany, November, 2013
• “God is Still Speaking,” Catholic Academy of Berlin, Germany, November, 2013
• “Changing Muslim Perceptions of Christians and Christianity,” for the symposium, “As Others See Us: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perceptions of Each Other, Past and Present,” St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, October 29, 2012
• “Protecting “Natural Goodness”: the Collective Obligation,” at Chicago Theological Seminary, May, 2012
• “Disciplining Good Intentions,” R.T. Orr Lecture at Huron University College of the University of Western Ontario,” March, 2012
• “Counterculturalism and the Formation of American Muslim Identity” at Tufts University, February, 2011
• “The Mosque as a Cultural Institution in America” at University of Minnesota, February, 2011
• “Loving the Neighbor in Islam,” at Yale Divinity School Conference “Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed: Implications for Christians and Muslims;” July, 2009.
• “Framing Muslim Women: Islam, Gender and Human Rights in the Global Media,” Muhlenberg College, April 2008
• “Gender, Society, and Change:  Ethics of Reform in Islamic Law,” Wesleyan University, November, 2007
• “Kitchener in the Middle East: Selective History, the Construction of Identity and Prospects for a Peaceful Future,” Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, ON (2007)
• “Knowing and Not-Knowing: the Psycho-Spiritual State of the Muslim Ethicist,” Pennsylvania State University, December, 2006.
• “Representing Orthodoxy: Muslim Chaplains and Expert Witnesses at the Intersection of Political and Religious authority,” Russell Lecture, Tufts University, March, 2005.
• “The Risks and Benefits of Resorting to ‘Necessity’ in Islamic Jurisprudence,” 2003 Or Emet lecture, Osgoode Law School, York University, Toronto, January, 2003.
• “Muslim Women and Islamic Law:  Possibilities, Limits and Challenges,” William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, April, 2002.
• “The Best of Intentions:  the Politics of Foreign Aid for Afghan Women Refugees,” University of Illinois at Chicago, March, 2002.
• “Gender and Authority in Islam,” Depauw University, Indiana, October, 2001.
• “Al-Ma`ruf:  Revelation’s Sanction of Customary Standards,” paper presented at the Middle East Studies Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, November, 2000.
• “Issues for Muslim Women,” lecture at the University of Westminster, London, conference on “Islamism, Pluralism and Civil Society,” April, 1999 (transcript published in Islam 21).
• “Between al-Shafi`i and Abu Dharr:  Islamic Law and Ethics on the Status of Slaves,” lecture at the Harvard Law School, workshop on “Egalitarianism and Islamic Law,” April, 1999.
• “Slave Mothers: The Process of the Legal Recognition of the Status of the Umm Walad in Early Islamic Society,” paper presented at the Chicago Humanities Institute, 1997.
• “Islamic Calligraphy:  Sacrality and Identity,” lecture at the Chicago Cultural Institute, 1997.
• “What ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab Ate (Symbolic Poverty in Early Islamic Society),” paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, 1996.
• “The Sufriyya in History and Heresiography,” paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, 1994.

Selected Lectures and Presentations to the Public, Clergy, and Professional Groups

• “Framing Muslim Women,” lecture for “Pluralism Week” at the University of Calgary, March, 2019.
• “Understanding the Other in Interfaith Relationships,” Plenary Address; and organizer and panel participant in “In Our Own Image: Women’s Spiritual & Religious Leadership in Contested Times,” at the Parliament of World Religions, Toronto, Oct. 2018.
• Lecture, “Developing your Spiritual Capacity,” Spiritual Journey Conference, London, ON, Dec. 2017.
• Presentation on Islam and Feminism, for MSA, University of Windsor, Nov. 2017.
• Presentation on Islamic dietary practices at Abraham’s Cafe, London, ON, Nov. 2017.
• Keynote lecture, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom annual conference, NJ, Nov. 2017.
• Presentation on Muslims in Canada, Toronto Police Academy, Oct. 2017.
• Lecture: “Islam: Image and Identity,” Moravian Academy, PA, Oct. 2017.
• Panel presentation, “Balancing Freedom of Religion, Gender Equity, LGBTQ2 Rights,” Ryerson University, Oct. 2017.
• Lecture: “The Construction of Identity and the Benefits and Challenges of a Place to Call Home,” Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb Foundation, Chicago, Sept. 2017.
• Lecture and panel participation “Muslim Identity in an Age of Right Wing Populism,” Tessellate Institute, Toronto, Sept. 2017.
• Lecture: “Framing Muslims in Canada,” John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, Edmonton, AB, August, 2017.
• Speech at the annual Interfaith Breakfast, City of Grande Prairie, AB, May, 2017.
• Spoke on panel at “Our Whole Society: Religion and Citizenship in Canada” at St. Paul University, Ottawa, May, 2017.
• Series of lectures at the “Festival of Faiths” in Louisville, KY, April, 2017.
• Panel on religion and violence with Mehdi Hassan, University of Western Ontario, Feb. 2017.
• Series of public lectures on the Qur’an and Ethics at Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin, Ireland, May, 2016.
• “Qur’an: Text, Context and Tradition,” Rana Akbar Memorial Lecture, Saginaw, MI, April, 2016.
• “Framing Muslims: Canadian Muslims Beyond the Stereotypes,” 2016 Howcroft Lecture, Romero House, Toronto, January, 2016.
• “Islam and Human Rights,” The Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB, October, 2015.
• “Different; Not so Different: Caring for the Muslim Patient,” lecture and presentation at the Institute of Spirituality and Nursing Conference, Houston, October, 2015.
• “Interfaith Connections and Connectivity,” lecture at the 2015 International Congress for Pastoral Care and Counseling,” San Francisco, October, 2015.
• “How to Tell a Beautiful Story: The Tale of Joseph in the Qur’an,” lecture delivered January 22, 2015 at King’s University College at Western University, London, ON.
• “(Don’t) Save the Children: The Benefits of Interfaith Aid Programs, lecture delivered on January 26, 2015 at Alvernia University, Reading, PA.
• “The Role of Religion in Bringing Us Together or Tearing Us Apart,” panel at the Spur Literary Festival, Toronto, April 11, 2015.
• Presenter at the Third Seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum at the Pontifical Institute in Rome, November 11-13, 2014.
• “God is still Speaking,” lecture at the Catholic Academy of Berlin, Germany, November, 2013.
• “How can one be a person of faith in the 21st century in Canada?” Ottawa School of Theology and Spirituality 50th anniversary celebration, November 2013.
• Presentation on minorities and religious freedom at the International Conference on Citizenship and Minorities in the Muslim World, Tunis, 2012.
• Delivered the annual Kellogg Lectures on “What it means to be an observant Muslim in America” and “The Current State of Christian-Muslim Relations” at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, 2012.
• Series of three lectures with Rabbi Burt Visotzky and Dr. Serene Jones on “Tragedy,” “Mourning,” and “Healing” delivered at St. Paul’s Chapel, NYC for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, 2011
• Presentation at El Ser Creativo in Malaqa, Spain, 2012
• “Embracing Change: Communicating Faith in Today’s World,” at the Religion Communication Congress 2010
• Panel on Islamic Law, New York City Bar Association, 2010
• Presenter at “La Cuidad de las Ideas,” Pueblo, Mexico, 2008
• “The Development of the Field of Islamic Chaplaincy,” address to the annual meeting of the American Theological Library Association, 2007
• Presenter at “ideaCity,” Toronto, 2007
• Workshop for judges of the Connecticut Superior Court at their annual education forum (2007)
• Panels discussing “The Procreation Choice” and “Dignity” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, (2007)
• “Teach-in” on prisoners in U.S. custody at Guantanamo at Seton Hall Law School, October, (2006)
• Presenter at conference “Exploring the Dynamics of Militant Extremism,” NORAD-USNORTHCOM, Colorado Springs, CO, February, 2005.
• Workshop on “Islam and America,” SSRC journalists institute, NYC, 2004
• “Creativity and Ijtihad,” at the United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, March, 2004.
• “Improving Care by Including Spiritual Concerns,” presentation for American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting, 2003
• Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington, DC, 2002
• “Death and Dying in the Islamic Tradition” at an interfaith symposium sponsored by Congregation Emanu-El in New York City, 2001

Book and Conference Reviews

• Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law by Khaled Abou El Fadl (Cambridge University Press, 2001); published in The Muslim World (Fall, 2005).
• Review of al-Mawardi’s al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya (The Ordinances of Government) for The Journal of Law and Religion (Fall, 2001).
• Review of Wilfred Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad:  A Study of the Early Caliphate in The Journal of Religion, April, 1998.
• Review of Yale Law School Conference, “Law, Culture and Human Rights:  Islamic Perspectives in the Contemporary World,” in The American Journal of Islamic Social Science, 11/3 (Fall 1994):  446-450.
• Review of the Yale University Conference, “Islamic Law and Religion,” in The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 10/4 (Winter 1993):  575-578.

Public Service, Boards, and Related Experience

• Advisory Board, Luce Fund for Theological Education; since 2015
• Advisory Board, Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding, Georgetown University until 2018.
• Advisory Board, Initiative on Islam and Medicine, The University of Chicago; 2014-18.
• Expert witness (pro-bono) in US District Court religious freedom case, “Al-Madany Islamic Center vs. City of Norwalk;” 2013-2014.
• Member, Faith-based Advisory Council, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 2012
• Senior Fellow, Aal Al Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan (appointed, 2010; Fellow since 2005)
• Interfaith Taskforce of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, 2009-2010
• President, Islamic Society of North America (2006-2010)
• Vice-President, Islamic Society of North America (2001-2006)
• Council of Global Leaders of the C-100 of the World Economic Forum (2008)
• Leadership Group, U.S.-Muslim Engagement (USME) Project (2007-2008)
• Board of Directors, Nawawi Foundation, Chicago, IL  (2000-present)
• Advisor to PBS film project, Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (2001-2002)
• Advisor to the Afghan delegation at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, thirty-ninth session, New York, (March 15—April 4, 1995)
• Director of Projects for Afghan Refugee Women (CIDA grant), Peshawar, Pakistan, 1987-1988
• Gives frequent public lectures on Islam at religious and educational institutions; often consulted as expert in the field by research groups, print, radio and television media

Honorary Degrees

• Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Canada 2017
• Doctor of Law, honoris causa, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, 2012
• Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Chicago Theological Seminary, 2012

Academic Awards and Fellowships

• Wisam al-Istiqlal (Medal of Independence) of the First Order for contributions to the field of Islamic Studies, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 2010
• Chicago Humanities Institute, Sawyer Seminar on Religion, Law and the Construction of Identities, Graduate Fellowship, 1996-1997
• Milners America Scholarship, 1995-1996
• American Association of University Women, International Fellowship, 1993-1994
• University of Chicago Century Scholarship, 1989-1992
• University of Waterloo, Dean’s List, 1987
• University of Waterloo, Art History Essay Award, 1986
• University of Waterloo, French Department, Prix d’excellence, 1985

Community and Interfaith Recognition

• Leading Women, Leading Girls Building Communities Award, Province of Ontario, 2017
• Building Bridges Award, presented by the Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding atGeorgetown University (Washington, DC), 2014
• Finalist, Goldziher Prize in Jewish-Muslim Relations, presented by the Center for the Study of Christian-Jewish-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College (North Andover, MA), 2014
• Certificate of Appreciation presented by Muslim Sisters United of the Islamic Center of Greater Hartford, 2012
• Muslim American Contribution Award presented by the Stanford University Muslim Student Awareness Network, 2011
• El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Award, presented by the Washington Academic Leadership Institute, the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association and the Muslim Social Network, January 19, 2009.
• Dr. Betty Shabbaz Award, presented by Women in Islam, NYC, 2007

Languages

Arabic:  excellent reading knowledge; good speaking ability.
French:  excellent reading knowledge; fair speaking ability.
Persian and German: limited reading ability.

Professional Memberships

Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics
Middle East Studies Association
American Academy of Religion