Dr. Shadaab Rahemtulla

Biography

Shadaab Rahemtulla is a Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. He has served as the Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) for the Divinity School and was awarded the University's Advancing Inclusion Award in 2022. His primary research interest lies at the intersection of religion, power, and resistance, where he explores the ways in which sacred texts can be reinterpreted to challenge oppressive structures such as poverty, patriarchy, racism, and empire. His book, 'Qur'an Oppressed: Liberation Theology, Gender Justice, and Islam' (Oxford University Press, 2018), provides a global, comparative analysis of contemporary Muslim theologians who have interpreted the Qur'an as a liberating scripture reflecting their lived experiences of marginalization. Shadaab has also edited the upcoming special issue 'The Future of Islamic Liberation Theology' for MDPI's journal 'Religions' in 2023, addressing topics such as decolonization, indigenous rights, gender, and social justice. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh in 2019, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Jordan's School of International Studies in Amman, where he taught for six years. Shadaab received his doctorate in contemporary Islamic thought from the University of Oxford in 2013. In addition to his teaching, Shadaab is open to supervising PhD theses in the fields of contemporary Islamic studies and Christian-Muslim relations and welcomes inquiries from students interested in liberation theologies.

Research Interests

Experience

Courses