Zainab Alwani

Zainab Alwani teaches Arabic studies at The School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She is also a teacher and director of Islamic and Arabic studies at Northern Virginia Community College. Ms. Alwani has developed and taught courses in Arabic Studies, Qura'nic Studies, Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Language and Culture and Women & Family in an Islamic Context. For the past three years she has been recognized nationally in the "Who's Who Among America's Teachers.”  She is a member of the Fiqh Council of North America.

Ms. Alwani is currently a Ph.D. candidate for Islamic Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia in the area of Fiqh and Usul al Fiqh.  She also holds a Masters in Islamic Studies from the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in the United States. Ms. Alwani has also studied Shariah and Law at Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan. She has published some of her works in Arabic on “Al- Ghazali and His Methodology in Fiqh Legislation,” and “Aisha and Her Methodology in Understanding Qur’an and Sunnah,” and has co-authored a book entitled "What Islam Says about Domestic Violence: A Guide for Helping Muslim Families." The focus of Ms. Alwani’s upcoming publications include: Qur'anic Studies, Objectives of al-Shari’ah, Usul and Fiqhi issues, Islamic education, and women and family studies in Islam.

Ms. Alwani works with many social service organizations and has offered frequent workshops about the role of women and family from an Islamic perspective. In addition to conducting a leadership workshop for Muslim women at the Karamah summer program, she has led many group studies for women and youth to promote Islamic education and advance inner peace mentally and spiritually. She participates in different interfaith dialogues and conferences to promote positive understanding among the interfaith community. Ms. Alwani has been traveling to different parts of the world as a way of broadening her views academically and socially.