Theology Department Faculty

Natana J. DeLong-Bas

Professor of the Practice

Director, Theology and Interreligious Studies minor

Selected Publications

  • The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Reform. Co-edited with Emad Hamdeh. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming April 2026 (in production).
  • Islam, Revival and Reform: Redefining Tradition for the Twenty-First Century, Editor. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2022.听
  • Islam: A Living Faith. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2018.听
  • Shariah: What Everyone Needs to Know. (With John L. Esposito). New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.听
  • The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women, 2 vols. Editor-in-Chief. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.听Winner of the 2014 Prose Award Honorable Mention for multi-volume reference from the American Publishing Association.听
  • Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, rev. ed. 2008.听Named 鈥1 of the 5 Best Books for Understanding Islam鈥 by The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2006. Translated into Russian, Arabic and French.听

Selected Presentations

  • 鈥淲ater: Assuring Access To, Protecting, and Conserving the Source of Life as an Islamic Ethical Obligation,鈥 Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics, Washington, DC, January 8-11, 2026.
  • 鈥淲riting Memory as History and History as Memory: Engaging the Material Turn in Ottoman-Wahhabi Relations,鈥 panel on 鈥淏etween Memory and Heritage: Politics of Remembering, Reclaiming, and Contesting the Ottoman Empire,鈥 at Beyond Crises: Resilience and (In)Stability, Memory Studies Association 9th听Annual Conference, Prague, Czechia, July 14-18, 2025.
  • 鈥淪pirit of Place, Spirit of Revelation: Thomas Merton鈥檚 Reading of Nature as a Place of Dialogue for Muslims and Christians,鈥 Nineteenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society, Regis University, Denver, CO, June 19-22, 2025.
  • 鈥淭he Wind Beneath Their Wings: A Comparative Ethical and Theological Engagement of Birds in the Bible and the Qur鈥檃n,鈥 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, July 7, 2023.
  • 鈥淲ater: The Source of Life 鈥 an intertextual scriptural reading as inspiration for interfaith cooperation in water conservation and management,鈥 The Centre for Christian-Muslim Studies, St. Stephen鈥檚 House, Oxford, England, November 28, 2022.
  • 鈥淏ridging the Orient and the West: Tracing Translations of the Qur鈥檃n into English through Arabia and the British Empire in India in the First Decades of the 20th听Century,鈥 international workshop on 鈥淒a鈥檞a and Qur鈥檃n translation in the first decades of the 20th听century,鈥澨鼳lbert-Ludwigs-Universit盲t Freiburg, Germany, funded by the European Research Council, June 21-22, 2022.
  • 鈥淔rom Subjects and Objects to Citizens and Society Influencers: Saudi Arabian Women in Religion, History and Contemporary Society,鈥 presented to School of Foreign Service for Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Feb. 1, 2022.
  • "Intertextual Scriptural Reading as Inspiration for Interfaith Cooperation in Water Conservation and Management," conference on 鈥淚slam, Environmental Science and Conservation,鈥 Michigan State University, October 15-16, 2020.
  • "From 鈥楽ources and Origins鈥 to 鈥楥onversation Partners鈥: Reframing the Historical Construction of the Qur鈥檃n," Round-Table Conference on 鈥淭he Qur鈥檃n in Its Milieu of Origin: Possibilities of the Historical Reconstruction of the Qur鈥檃nic Revelation,鈥 Center for Islamic Theology and the Cluster of Excellence, University of M眉nster, Germany, November 8-10, 2019.

Social Media Presence

  • 鈥淪haria: What Does Everyone Need to Know,鈥 conference on 鈥淭he Islamic World Today: Issues and Perspectives,鈥 Brigham Young University, October 18-29, 2021.听
  • 鈥淚slam for Catholics 101,鈥 Woods School of Theology and Ministry, 艾可直播 College, March 5, 2015.听.
  • 鈥淢uslim Women and Islamic Law: Myths and Realities,鈥 Woods School of Theology and Ministry, 艾可直播 College, October 15, 2015.听.听

Selected Recent Articles

  • 鈥淭he Qur鈥檃n and the Bible,鈥澨Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, May 27, 2025.听Available at听
  • 鈥淏ridging the Orient and the West: Tracing Translations of the Qur鈥檃n into English through Arabia and the British Empire in India in the First Decades of the 20th听Century,鈥澨Journal of Qur鈥檃nic Studies听26.2 (2024): 97-128.听
  • 鈥淚slamic Resources for Water Conservation and Management,鈥 in听Recovering Environmental and Economic Traditions in the Islamic World, ed. Sami Al-Daghistani. Leiden: Brill, 2024, 117-147.听
  • 鈥淢odern Re-readings of the Classical Legal Literature on Women,鈥 in听The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Women, Editor-in-Chief Asma Afsaruddin. New York: Oxford University Press, December 2023, 200-220.听
  • 鈥淭he Qur鈥檃n in Islamic Ritual and Practice,鈥 in听The Routledge Handbook of Islamic Ritual and Practice, ed. Oliver Leaman. New York: Routledge, June 2022, 13-37.
  • 鈥淲ahhabism and Salafism in Global Perspective,鈥 in听Wahhabism in the World: Understanding Saudi Arabia鈥檚 Global Influence on Religion, ed. Peter Mandaville. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022, 35-52.
  • 鈥淭he Role of Women in Solidifying 18th听Century Revival and Reform Initiatives into Ongoing Mass Movements,鈥 in听Islam, Revival and Reform: Redefining Tradition for the Twenty-First Century, ed, Natana J. DeLong-Bas. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2022, 3-29.
  • 鈥淚slamic Law and Gender,鈥澨Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. Available at听.
  • 鈥淚slam, Nature and the Environment,鈥澨Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Available at听.

Grants and Awards

  • Teaching, Advising and Mentoring Grant for Interreligious Studies, Jesuit Pedagogy and the Learning Sciences, 2025-2026.
  • Teaching and Mentoring Expense Grant for Interreligious Studies and pedagogy, 2025.听
  • Major Grant Award ($17,500) from Institute for Liberal Arts for a year-long interdisciplinary program on 鈥淐ontemporary Iran: Realities and Prospects for the Future鈥 from Institute for the Liberal Arts, 2023-2024.
  • Major Grant from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation for environmental study in the Galapagos Islands, May 2019-May 2022.
  • University Council on Teaching Grant for Student Well-Being, Spring 2020.
  • Major Grant Award from Institute for the Liberal Arts for conference on 鈥淚slam in the Post-Obama Era," 艾可直播 College, April 2018.听

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