Asma Sayeed

Asma Sayeed is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Islamic Studies at UCLA's Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, part of the UCLA College. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University (2005) and previously served as an Assistant Professor at Lafayette College. Her research focuses on early Muslim social history, Muslim education, gender studies, and hadith transmission by women. She has authored Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam (2013) and contributed to numerous journals and encyclopedias. Sayeed received a Fulbright Fellowship (2010) for archival research on Muslim women’s education in Syria. She teaches courses such as 'Introduction to Islam' and graduate seminars on research methodologies. Her current work examines textual practices in Muslim education across historical contexts.

Education:

• PhD, Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (2005)
• MA, History, Binghamton University (1994)
• BA, Politics, Princeton University (1991)
• Certificate in Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (1991)

Research Interests: Her scholarship emphasizes women’s roles in religious knowledge transmission, legal and social history intersections, and medieval Muslim educational systems. She frequently addresses how gender shaped access to religious authority and spaces.

Awards:

• Fulbright Fellowship (2010)

Teaching and Professional Engagement: Sayeed’s courses cover Quranic studies, Islam in the West, and methodological frameworks in Islamic studies. She actively participates in academic conferences and initiatives, including keynote lectures on women’s intellectual engagement in classical Islam and digital humanities projects mapping women’s educational histories.