Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk

Meena Sharify-Funk, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Chair for the Religion and Culture Department at Wilfrid Laurier University who specializes in Islamic studies with a focus on contemporary Muslim thought and identity.  Sharify-Funk has written and presented a number of articles and papers on Sufi hermeneutics, women and Islam and the role of cultural and religious factors in peacemaking.  Currently, she is co-authoring two books:  an introductory textbook on Sufism entitled, Unveiling Sufism:  From Manhattan to Mecca and a manuscript on contemporary Sufism entitled, Contemporary Sufism: Piety, Politics, and Popular Culture.  Her first manuscript was Encountering the Transnational: Women, Islam, and the Politics of Interpretation (2008) which examined the impact of transnational networking on Muslim women’s identity, thought, and activism.  She also has co-edited two books, Cultural Diversity and Islam (2003) and Contemporary Islam:  Dynamic, Not Static (2006).