Middle East And Islamic Studies Lecture Series

Date: 12 June 2020, 4 pm

Humor in Islam 

Guest lecture: Yasmin Amin – Ph.D. Exeter University

Abstract: Muslims are nowadays often stereotyped as humorless. Burning flags, besieged embassies, angry mobs, and terrorist attacks are the images frequently associated with Muslims. But these images are at odds with the abundant evidence of humor in Islamic civilization. Textual sources such as hadith collections and adab al-nawadir show that humor was an integral part of the lives of Muslims over the centuries. Furthermore, Muslims were also not afraid to use their religious obligations to generate laughs. This presentation takes you on a journey through the ages to shed light on instances of Muslim humor.

Bio: A half-German, half-Egyptian, Yasmin Amin is currently a PhD student in Islamic Studies at Exeter University’s Arab & Islamic Institute, finalizing her research “Humor and Laughter in the Hadith”. She obtained a post graduate diploma in Islamic Studies from the American University in Cairo in 2006 as well as an MA in Islamic Studies in 2010. Her research covers various aspects of early Muslim society and culture as well as the original heritage texts of Islamic history, law and Prophetic traditions. She is co-translator of the book The Sorrowful Muslim’s Guide (EUP 2018), co-editor of the book Islamic Interpretive Tradition and Gender Justice: Processes of Canonization, Subversion, and Change (MQUP 2020) and the author of the forthcoming Musnad Umm Salama and the Factors Affecting its Evolution (Brill).

update: May 16, 2021- Dr. Amin has since completed her doctoral studies.

Students wishing to obtain a video recording of the lecture for educational purposes can contact Mulki Al-Sharmani at mulki.al-sharmani@helsinki.fi