Interdisciplinary Study of Religions, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and Medieval Studies Programs Presents
The Beauty of the Houri: Images and Interpretations of the Heavenly Virgins
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Campus Center, Weis Cinema
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Dr. Nerina Rustomji, Associate Professor of History at St. John's University, will be giving a talk titled The Beauty of the Houri: Images and Interpretations of the Heavenly Virgins.5:30 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
This talk addresses the images of the pure female companions of Islamic paradise or houris by presenting how the houri was understood from the seventh to the twenty-first century in Arabic, French, and English texts. The houri offered a feminine ideal of purity for a variety of interpreters, including Qur’anic commentators, Latin Christendom theologians, British and French travel writers, eighteenth and nineteenth century poets and writers, and twentieth and twenty-first century interpreters of Islam. The talk considers how an unknowable feminine figure continues to compel, even while signifying the differing aims of spiritual purity, political violence, and gender parity.
For more information, call 845-758-7207, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Campus Center, Weis Cinema