What would the world look like if we knew the true stories of Muslim Women past and present? 

Al-Mujadilah Research is pleased to announce a competition for contributions to its forthcoming encyclopaedia: Alf Muslimah. 

This compilation is a research initiative dedicated to documenting the lives, intellectual contributions, and social impact of leading Muslim women across the globe and throughout the ages. 

This project is a collaboration with the Qatar Ministry of Social Development and Family (MSDF) under their “Women Role Models in Islam’ initiative. 

The project will  present a broad and diverse study of Muslim women, past and present, who have demonstrated qualities of leadership and become living exemplars to be emulated in today and in the generations that follow, adopting a holistic framework of Muslim leadership known as ri’aya (stewardship).  

This stewardship is not limited to political power or economic prosperity but also extends to forms of leadership and influence through the transmission and production of knowledge, spiritual and ethical embodiment, socio-economic engagement, and domestic authority. 

This project highlights the stories of female Muslims who represent models of participation and power that have been overlooked by orientalist, colonial, and western—as well as some eastern— approaches to the study of the Islamicate world. The encyclopaedic collection is aimed at a public audience but will maintain the standards of scholarly rigour that is expected in academic writing. 

Scholars, researchers, and experts are invited to submit proposals for research-based entries identifying female figures across diverse spheres of influence. 

Structure and Methodology 

This collection seeks to move beyond the typical format of entries in biographical collections and delves deeper into the lives of these figures, combining traditional and creative methodologies to engage with them and bring them to life for the reader. It also analyzes their works and legacies within the broader framework of ri’aya to present women’s contributions in the Islamicate world.  To this end, we ask that submissions to consider the following elements when proposing their entries: 

• Diversity of contributions: Incorporate contributions by Muslim women across the fields of religion, politics, law, education, business, art, and science alongside their‘tarbiya’ roles as caregivers, matriarchs and homemakers and the first educators of their children. 

• Geographical inclusivity: Include examples of women from across the different regions of the Islamicate world (e.g., Arab, Turkic, and Persian geo-linguistic contexts, as well as the Indian subcontinent, Sub-Saharan Africa, Malay Archipelago, and Western world).  

• Enhanced biography: Focus on the figure’s most significant contributions and model of leadership. This includes specific events and accomplishments that go beyond just a summary of their lives.Historiography and intertextuality: Analyze how these figures been recorded across different historical sources and identify the gaps. Examine how the narrative of their lives been shaped or modified over time and the reasons behind it. 

• Women’s networks of power: Examine how these figures relate (if applicable), to other women within shared networks of power and tradition-building. 

• Autobiography and authorial agency: Prioritize the figures’ personal views and ideas in written, visual, or oral works, in order to establish a direct connection with the figure without the intermediation of the biographer. What do their written/original/oral works say about them as people? How were these works received? 

• Bringing text to life: Assess the real-world impact of these figures and how they impacted the world or even personally inspired you. For this we highly encourage that your submission is introducing someone from a community you belong to. 

• Timeless legacies: Evaluate their relevance for contemporary or future context. What can they bring to our current realities?   

• Accessibility: Ensure entries are written clearly and are accessible to audiences beyond academia.  

• Extratextual content: Include, where possible, an image that best depicts the most important aspect of this figure’s legacy (past or present) including but not limited to, writings, art, or monuments.  

 

• The entry may focus on a figure from the appended list of female figures (see link here) or a similar example from your region and/or area of expertise. 

• The figure must not be from the first three generations of Islam and should be relatively lesser known amongst a general Muslim audience. Living figures will be accepted onlyy in exceptional cases. 

• It is highly recommended that you have already carried out academic-level research on the figures proposed. Please make this clear in your submission. 

• Proposals must include a 250-word abstract, an outline of the entry, and a bibliography.  

• Include one image/graphic or photography that is relevant to the entry. 

• Upon acceptance of proposal, authors will be requested to submit an entry between 1000-2000 words within a one-month period (beginning from the contracted date). 

• A $400 honorarium will be awarded upon completion of all editorial and review processes, provided the entry was submitted by the assigned deadline. 

• Authors can submit up to three proposals. Arabic and English submissions are welcome. 

• All proposals must be submitted by:  30 June 2026