Dr. Sumaiya Hamdani, Professor of Islamic Studies, George Mason University, will engage in a dialogue with Rabbi Lyle Fishman entitled "A Muslim and a Jew Examine Islam and Judaism Then and Now".

Dr. Hamdani received her B.A. from Georgetown University and M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University in the field of Islamic history. Her book, Between Revolution and State: the Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy (I.B. Tauris 2006) examines the development of legal and historical literature by the Ismaili Shi’i Fatimid state. Her research has also included articles and reviews in the fields of Shi’i thought, Islamic history, and women in Islam. Her teaching interests include Islamic, Middle East, and world history. Her current research examines the construction of identity in Muslim minority communities in South Asia during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Dr. Hamdani has served on advisory boards of the Middle East Studies Association, the American Institute of Yemeni Studies, and the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies, among others. She also founded and was director of the Islamic Studies program at George Mason University from 2003-2008. 

This program is one of a series of events being held to honor our outgoing Rabbi Lyle Fishman and his wife, Debbie Rosenman.