Dr Nuha al-Sha‘ar has a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge, MPhil in Educational Research from the University of Cambridge and an MA in African and Asian History the School of African and Asian Studies, SOAS. She has taught at various academic institutions in the UK, and the Arab world.
Dr Al-Sha'ar’s current research interests include the social and intellectual history of Muslim political thought, particularly in the 9th – 10th centuries CE. She is interested in how udaba' or litterateurs used the Holy Qur’an
to develop certain cultural concepts, which were later to dominate Arabic linguistic and literary-theoretical thinking. Her publications and book chapters include:
to develop certain cultural concepts, which were later to dominate Arabic linguistic and literary-theoretical thinking. Her publications and book chapters include:Publications
Monographs & Edited Volumes (forthcoming and in progress)
Al-Sha‘ar, Nuha and Verena Klemm et al., (eds.), Sources and Approaches across Near Eastern Disciplines: The Proceedings of the 24th Congress of the Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), Peeters, Leuven, 2012.
Al-Sha‘ar, Nuha, Ethical Thought in the Buyid period (334/945-440/1048), The Institute of Ismaili Studies in association with I.B. Tauris, London, in progress and expected in 2012.
Al-Sha‘ar, Nuha and Alessandro Cancian (eds. & trs.) An Anthology of Qur’anic Commentaries, vol. III: Ethics and Society, Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, Qur’anic Studies Series, London, in progress.
Al-Sha‘ar, Nuha (ed.), Qur’an and Adab Traditions, Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, Qur’anic Studies Series, London, in progress.
Book Chapters
‘An Analytical Reading of al-Tawhidi’s Epistle on The Classification of Knowledge (Risala fi al-‘Ulum),’ in Reflections on Knowledge and Language in Middle Eastern Societies, Bruno De Nicola et al., (eds.), Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, pp. 161-185.
‘Between Love and Social Aspiration: The Influence of Sufi and Greek Concepts of Love on the Socio-political Thought of the Ikhwan al-Safa’, Miskawayh, and al-Tawhidi,’ in Sources and Approaches across Near Eastern Disciplines: The Proceedings of the 24th Congress of the Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), Nuha al-Sha‘ar and Verena Klemm et al., (eds.), Peeters, Leuven, 2012, pp. 25-36.
‘Introduction’ with Verena Klemm, in Nuha al-Sha‘ar and Verena Klemm et al., (eds.), Sources and Approaches across Near Eastern Disciplines: The Proceedings of the 24th Congress of the Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), Peeters, Leuven, 2012, pp. 1-5.