Beacons of Hope: Our Interreligious S/Heroes Beacons of Hope: Our Interreligious S/Heroes – Dr. Celene Ibrahim

Each month, we honor an individual whose commitment aligns with the bridge-building vision of the Miller Center, embodying values of inclusivity, justice, and compassion. For April, we shine a light on Dr. Celene Ibrahim, multidisciplinary scholar and Muslim Chaplain, as our Beacon of Hope.

Dr. Celene Ibrahim is a multidisciplinary scholar of religious studies with a focus on Islamic intellectual history, gender studies, and applied ethics. She is the author of the award-winning monograph Women and Gender in the Qur’an (Oxford University Press). The book won the Association of Middle East Women’s Studies Book Award, and the American Academy of Religion featured the title for Women’s History Month. She is also the author of Islam and Monotheism (Cambridge University), an accessible primer on Islamic theology published by Cambridge University Press. She is the editor of the anthology One Nation, Indivisible: Seeking Liberty and Justice from the Pulpit to the Streets (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2019), selections from which are featured in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin. Her current book project examines contemporary Islamic ethics related to issues of sex and gender. Celene’s commentary on the role of Moses as a prophet of Islam was featured in the recent Netflix docudrama, Testament: The Story of Moses.

We are proud that Dr. Ibrahim is a member of the Miller Center advisory committee, and that she regularly serves as a teacher, lecturer, and facilitator in our leadership development programs and in our graduate programs. Before the establishment of the Miller Center, she served with Rabbi Or Rose and Dr. Jennifer Howe Peace as co-director of CIRCLE, the shared interreligious center of Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School. Commenting on Dr Ibrahim’s contributions to the Miller Center and the broader field of interreligious engagement, Rabbi Rose stated: “Celene is a multi-talented person who exemplifies the work of the scholar-practitioner, weaving together her intellectual and spiritual commitments in creative and generous ways. Further, she is a model of menschlichkeit—integrity and honor (in Yiddish and German)—who treats others with dignity and care. I am honored to call Celene my friend and colleague.”

A gifted scholar-practitioner, Dr. Ibrahim also specializes in spiritual care and chaplaincy, interreligious and civic engagement, education, and religious leadership in the public sphere. She previously served as a Denominational Counselor with the Office of Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School and as the Muslim Chaplain at Tufts University. She currently resides at the Groton School as a faculty member in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy. She also serves as the School’s Muslim Chaplain.