Kecia Ali (Ph.D. Duke University) is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Religion Department at Boston University. Her research ranges from Islam’s formative period to the present and focuses on Islamic law; gender and sexuality; and religious biography. She is the author of several books including Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam and Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur’an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence. Her current projects include an introductory book on Women in Muslim Traditions and a study of the gender politics of academic Islamic Studies. She recently completed a term as Status Committee Director for the American Academy of Religion and is a past president of the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics. You can read more about her work at www.keciaali.com.