Aisha A. L. Al-Adawiya and Women in Islam, Inc. collection, circa 1960 -- 2020

Summary Information

Abstract

This collection contains the papers and records of Sister Aisha al-Adawiya, co-founder and executive director of Women In Islam, Inc., documenting her various efforts relating to Islam, gender equity, conflict resolution, cross-cultural understanding, and social justice, as well as Muslim and Black community life in New York City, interfaith organizing for social justice causes in New York City, small scale Muslim women's publications (newsletters, magazines); and local and small scale Muslim newsletters across North America. Includes correspondence, administrative and organizational materials, published materials, mixed media, and personal materials.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series in original order.

• Aisha A.L. Al-Adawiya and Women in Islam, Inc. collection, circa 1960 -- 2020

Description

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the papers and records of Sister Aisha al-Adawiya, co-founder and executive director of Women In Islam, Inc., documenting her various efforts relating to Islam, gender equity, conflict resolution, cross-cultural understanding, and social justice, as well as Muslim and Black community life in New York City, interfaith organizing for social justice causes in New York City, small scale Muslim women's publications (newsletters, magazines); and local and small scale Muslim newsletters across North America. Includes correspondence, administrative and organizational materials, published materials, mixed media, and personal materials. Correspondence includes handwritten, typed, and printed email correspondence, including from Muslim listservs. This collection also contains material from al-Adawiya's husband, Aziz Rahman, including manuscript drafts and research material on halaal and haram, and personal correspondence and materials; as well as material on other business ventures in which al-Adawiya participated, including World Trade Forum, Inc. and Anglo-Arab Trading Corporation.

• Aisha A.L. Al-Adawiya and Women in Islam, Inc. collection, circa 1960 -- 2020

  This series contains the papers and records of Sister Aisha al-Adawiya, co-founder and executive director of Women In Islam, Inc., documenting her various efforts relating to Islam, gender equity, conflict resolution, cross-cultural understanding, and social justice, as well as Muslim and Black community life in New York City, interfaith organizing for social justice causes in New York City, small scale Muslim women's publications (newsletters, magazines); and local and small scale Muslim newsletters across North America. Includes correspondence, administrative and organizational materials, published materials, mixed media, and personal materials. Correspondence includes handwritten, typed, and printed email correspondence, including from Muslim listservs. This collection also contains material from al-Adawiya's husband, Aziz Rahman, including manuscript drafts and research material on halaal and haram, and personal correspondence and materials; as well as material on other business ventures in which al-Adawiya participated, including World Trade Forum, Inc. and Anglo-Arab Trading Corporation.

Burke Library record group:

Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship (AWTS)

Using the Collection

Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Other Finding Aids

A thematic inventory may be available for consultation (this inventory does not correspond to box numbers).

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred Citation

Item description, AWTS: Aisha A. L. Al-Adawiya and Women in Islam, Inc. collection, circa 1960-2020, box #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from Aisha A. L. Al-Adawiya. Received in June 2022, accession AWTS-2023-001.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Processing Information

Materials were minimally processed: sensitive personal and financial information was weeded (including the entirety of Box 22), and original order, boxes, and numbering were maintained. The finding aid, including a box-level inventory and series-level description, was created by Leah Edelman with assistance from Matthew Baker and Katie Merriman in 2022.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Aisha al-Adawiya (1944- ) is the co-founder and was an executive director of Women in Islam, Inc., an organization of Muslim women which focuses on human rights and social justice; coordinated acquisitions of Islamic material for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and ran several small businesses with her late husband, Aziz Rahman. She organized and participated in conferences and other forums on Islam, gender equity, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural understanding in New York City and around the world, and served as a board member and/or consultant to numerous interfaith organizations and documentary projects on the Muslim American experience. Aisha al-Adawiya is also an organizer for and speaker on social justice issues including the domestic and global war on terror and its effect on Muslims and the Global South, racism and anti-Blackness, Palestine, anti-war, human rights, and natural disaster relief.