Denise Spellberg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Denise A. Spellberg (born c. 1958) is an American scholar of
Islamic history The history of Islam concerns the political, social, economic, military, and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims r ...
. She is professor of history and Middle Eastern Studies at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Spellberg holds an A.B. in History from
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
(1980) and an M.A., M. Phil., and a PhD (1989) in Middle Eastern History from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.


Academic work

Spellberg is the author of ''Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of 'A'isha Bint Abi Bakr'', a widely cited work on the portrayal of
Aisha Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al-mu'min, muʾminīn), ...
in Islamic tradition. In particular, Spellberg shows how later commentators reinterpreted Aisha's role at the
Battle of Camel The Battle of the Camel, also known as the Battle of Jamel or the Battle of Basra, took place outside of Basra, Iraq, in 36 AH (656 CE). The battle was fought between the army of the fourth caliph Ali, on one side, and the rebel army led by ...
(656) where she rode her camel into battle against
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
but stayed inside the howdah on its back with the curtains closed, as an argument that women should never participate in public affairs.


''The Jewel of Medina''

In 2008 Spellberg was involved in a controversy over Sherry Jones's (author) historical novel '' The Jewel of Medina''.
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, which intended to publish the novel later that year, had sent Spellberg
galley proof In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders, often with extra-wide margins. Galley proofs may be uncut and unbound, or in some cases electronically tran ...
s, hoping for a publishable comment. Spellberg sharply criticized the novel from a historical perspective, and also reportedly told Random House publishing the book might result in violence by radical Muslims. Subsequently, Random House indefinitely postponed publication, citing concerns about violence from extremists.
Asra Nomani Asra Quratulain Nomani (born September 7, 1965) is an American author and former Georgetown University professor. Born in India to Muslim parents, she earned a BA from West Virginia University in liberal arts in 1986 and an MA from the American U ...
wrote about the events in an opinion piece for ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', in which she characterized Spellberg as "the instigator of the trouble". In the wake of Nomani's article, a number of publications printed pieces criticizing Spellberg's actions as tantamount to advocating censorship. Spellberg responded in the ''Wall Street Journal'', contesting Nomani's characterization of her as the "instigator" of the book's cancellation. She wrote that she was not advocating censorship, but rather offering her professional assessment of the book and a warning about the potential reaction from some Muslims, stating "I felt it was my professional responsibility to counter this novel's fallacious representation of a very real woman's life."Edward Nawotk
"UT professor's complaints lead to cancellation of book about Muhammad's wife"
''The Austin American-Statesman'', August 13, 2008; accessed December 9, 2014.


''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''

In 2013, Spellberg published ''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''. The book discusses a copy of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
owned by
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
as well as Jefferson's views on Islam, arguing that his vision for religious freedom in the United States specifically included Muslims."The Surprising Story Of 'Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an'"
npr.org, October 12, 2013.


Books

* * ''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''. New York: Knopf. 2013.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spellberg, Denise Middle Eastern studies in the United States American historians of Islam University of Texas at Austin faculty Columbia University alumni Living people Smith College alumni 1950s births American women historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American women American male non-fiction writers