Sufi Women and Mystics Models of Sanctity, Erudition, and Political Leadership

"Minlib Dalh is to be congratulated on bringing to our attention six female Sufis who deserve to be much better known and who each made a major contribution in the history of Sufism. His work fills a lacuna and brings to the fore the dynamic agency of each of the mystics whom he discusses. This is a scholarly, highly readable and insightful work in which the author splendidly accomplishes his 'primary goal to help reverse the sidelining of Sufi women in the recorded academic literature.'"

Ian Richard Netton, University of Exeter, UK

"In an astonishing panorama, the author unfolds for us the experience of six women Sufi scholars and mystics in six periods of time and different places, from the ninth to the nineteenth centuries. His account shows an erudition which is thorough but lightly-worn, a sensitivity to matters of controversy about women's writing and spirituality in Islam, an acute awareness of historical and political context, and above all a passion to recover neglected women's voices. This book should be essential reading, not only for scholars of Islam, but for all those interested in mystical experience, feminist theology and religious history in general."

Paul S. Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Oxford, UK