Aliah Schleifer

Dr. Aliah Schleifer is a scholar of Islamic Studies who spent thirty years living, studying, and working in the Middle East. She was a professor at the American University in Cairo, where her work 'Motherhood in Islam' was adopted as a course textbook - a reflection of its standing as an authoritative reference on the subject. Her scholarly interests span classical Qur'anic commentary, the prophetic traditions, Islamic jurisprudence, Morisco Studies, and Islamic mysticism. Her book on Mary the Blessed Virgin of Islam originated as her doctoral dissertation at the University of Exeter. The foreword to that work was contributed by Timothy Winter (Abdul Hakim Murad) of Cambridge University's Faculty of Divinity, and the introduction by Dr. Ali Jum'a, Professor of Law at al-Azhar University in Cairo.