The Early Islamic _Mawālī_ : A Window onto Processes of Identity Construction and Social Change
480 School Street Belmont, MA 02478
Fred Donner
The _mawālī_ —foreign converts, freed slaves, and other rootless outsiders who became clients of Arab patrons—were key participants in early Islamic history (ca. 610–800 CE). This dissertation views how the social identity of the _mawālī_ was shaped by diverse discourses, such as the Quran’s foundation of an Islamic community; debates about the role of genealogy in structuring society; changing notions of mothers and motherhood; and the development of various forms of ethnic consciousness. As their status was constructed from so many elements, investigating the _mawālī_ creates a conceptual prism for understanding broader social phenomena of early Islamic history
Instructor, "Slaves, Clients, and Concubines: Unfree People in Classical Islamic Society," Autumn 2009 Instructor, "Classical Islamic Social Categories," Winter 2009 Teaching Assistant, First- and Second-Year Arabic 2006–2009
"The Identity Crisis of Abū Bakra: Mawlā of the Prophet, or Polemical Tool?” in The Lineaments of Islam: Studies in Honor of Fred McGraw Donner, ed. Paul M. Cobb (Leiden and Boston: Brill, forthcoming 2011) “The Foundations of Islamic Society as Expressed by the Qur’anic Term Mawlā,” Middle East Studies Association Conference, Washington, DC, December 2011 “Mawlā and ʿAjam: Untangling Expressions of Social Identity in the Kitāb al-Fitan,” Middle East History and Theory Conference, Chicago, IL, May 2011 “Humility in Early Islam: Constructing Values and Transforming Society,” Columbia University Religion Graduate Students’ Conference, April 2011