The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) is pleased to present the Muslim Women Scholars Series. One of CCMW’s strategic goals is to promote critical thinking among Muslims and non-Muslims to challenge stereotypes and assumptions about Islam, Muslim women and their families. One way of doing this is to feature the work of contemporary Muslim women scholars focusing on diverse topics related to Muslim women.
For more information or partnership opportunities, email us at events@ccmw.com.
Past seminars
April 2026
Apr
09
09
April
2026
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
This lecture explores the concept of leadership through a Qur’anic lens, examining themes such as secularism, democracy, and responsible governance. Drawing on foundational Islamic principles, it reflects on the separation of religion and state, and highlights the Queen of Sheba as a model of inclusive, consultative, and ethical leadership. It...
January 2026
Jan
22
22
January
2026
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Sunera Thobani examines how Islam is foundational to the formation of Western identity at critical points in its history, including the Crusades, the Reconquista and the colonial period.
July 2025
Jul
24
24
July
2025
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The seminar explores four key themes: code-switching, intra-religious conflict, resistance to Western norms, and the development of a new concept I termed "spatial visibility"—the idea that certain spaces amplify the visibility of sartorial practices, particularly in the context of gendered Islamophobia.
June 2025
Jun
12
12
June
2025
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
This presentation, grounded in participatory action research conducted with 21 Muslimāt Muḥaǧabāt, critically examines the paradoxes of Québec’s secularism, the intersection of Islamophobia and gendered racism, and the ways in which those impacted resist erasure and reclaim their right to exist.
April 2025
Apr
04
04
April
2025
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
In this thought-provoking talk, Nevin Reda explores the legacy of colonialism and genocide in Canada through the lens of scripture and theology. Engaging with the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, she examines how Qur’an-inspired, Islamic feminist perspectives can offer fresh insights into problematic Biblical narratives. The...
March 2024
Mar
06
06
March
2024
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
This talk examines the vulnerabilities and pains of both sides of the LGBTIQ Muslim debate, attempting to find a solution that is authentically Islamic, compassionate, and acknowledging of difference.
October 2023
Oct
05
05
October
2023
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
In this presentation, Meena Sharify-Funk explored how debates and misconceptions about Muslim women in North America have shaped public discourse and identity. Through case studies from Canada and the United States, she highlighted key controversies and offered deeper insight into the complex intersections of culture, faith, and belonging.
August 2023
Aug
03
03
August
2023
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
In this talk, Zahra Khosroshahi discussed her forthcoming book on Iranian women filmmakers as voices of resistance and dissent. Her talk examined how women’s filmmaking in Iran confronted gender and representation, challenged the male gaze, and spoke from a position of agency. She explored how women filmmakers not only influenced...
May 2023
May
25
25
May
2023
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Standing on the shoulders of trailblazing and critical racialized feminists, such as Nawaal el Saadawi, Ien Ang, Sunera Thobani, Gayatri Spivak, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Chandra Mohanty, Fatima Mernissi, Mallica Vajrathon, Patricia Monture, Dr. Wafaa Hasan will argue that the legacy of “colonial dialogue” in North-South transnational feminist relationships remains.
March 2023
Mar
16
16
March
2023
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Presenter: Dr. Nevin Reda This talk introduces the new Musawah project, Justice and Beauty in Muslim Marriage: Towards Egalitarian Ethics and Laws, edited by Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Mulki Al-Sharmani, Jana Rumminger, and Sarah Marsso (London: Oneworld Academic, 2022). It takes a deep dive into usul al-fiqh (Islamic ethical-legal theory), showing some...
November 2022
Nov
17
17
November
2022
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Ayesha S. Chaudhry reads from and engages in discussion about her recent book The Colour of God.
July 2022
Jul
14
14
July
2022
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
I offer an intersectional and Islamic ethic of reproductive care that makes visible the unmet care needs of and attends to the epistemic, moral and ontological injuries experienced by Muslim pregnant, birthing and postpartum people in a global pandemic.
May 2022
May
19
19
May
2022
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Drawing from a 18 month narrative inquiry, this presentation explores the pre-/post-displacement experiences of dis/citizenship as re/told by a Syrian Muslim refugee mother of dis/abled children. It also explores larger themes of trauma, healing, and belonging in the midst of intersecting systems and dominant narratives.
March 2022
Mar
10
10
March
2022
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
This episode of CCMW’s Muslim Women Scholars series examines this verse closely and reads it in a linguistically accurate, methodologically sounds way, connecting not only various parts of the verse to each other and to the rest of the Qur’an, but also linking it to the contemporary context and the...
December 2021
Dec
09
09
December
2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
I demonstrate how these inward and outward definitions of Muslimness in turn inform how participants evaluate their spouses’ religiosity and, thus, the potential for conflict over religiosity with their spouses.
October 2021
Oct
21
21
October
2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The talk will engage with the question of what is meant by the amalgamation of Muslim + Mental + Health.
August 2021
Aug
05
05
August
2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Within the diasporic Muslim communities in Canada and the U.S., there exist certain pervasive hegemonic normative discourses that situate sexually and gender diverse Muslim women as ‘outside’ the folds of Islam and authentic ‘Muslimness’.
April 2021
Apr
08
08
April
2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The goal of this seminar is to offer a new perspective on secularism in Muslim thought. The need for such a project is keenly felt, since today Islam is often framed as incompatible with the institutions of secularism.
February 2021
Feb
25
25
February
2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
In this seminar Nevin Reda explores the function of the Qur’an as a pathway to spiritual advancement and the importance of ethical behaviours within this framework, especially gender justice.
