Ajay Kumar at 20:06, 28 September 2023

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{{short description|American scholar of Islamic history (born c. 1958)}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Denise A. Spellberg
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Denise spellburg 3925.JPG
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = Circa 1958
| birth_place =
| death_date = 
| occupation = Educator, academic
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = [[Smith College]];<br> [[Columbia University]]}}

'''Denise A. Spellberg''' (born c. 1958) is an American scholar of [[Islamic history]]. She is professor of history and [[Middle Eastern studies|Middle Eastern Studies]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]].

== Early life and education ==
Spellberg holds an A.B. in History from [[Smith College]] (1980) and an M.A., M. Phil., and a PhD (1989) in Middle Eastern History from [[Columbia University]].

==Academic work==
Spellberg is the author of ''Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of 'A'isha Bint Abi Bakr'', a widely cited work on the portrayal of [[Aisha]] in Islamic tradition. In particular, Spellberg shows how later commentators reinterpreted Aisha's role at the [[Battle of Camel]] (656) where she rode her camel into battle against [[Ali]] but stayed inside the [[howdah]] on its back with the curtains closed, as an argument that women should never participate in public affairs.<ref>James E. Lindsay, ''Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World'' (2005), p. 68</ref><ref>Kate E. Tunstall, ''Displacement, Asylum, Migration: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures'', p. 310 (2006)Oxford University Press{{ISBN missing}}</ref>

==''The Jewel of Medina''==
{{Main article|The Jewel of Medina}}
In 2008 Spellberg was involved in a controversy over Sherry Jones's (author) historical novel ''[[The Jewel of Medina]]''. [[Random House]], which intended to publish the novel later that year, had sent Spellberg [[galley proof]]s, hoping for a publishable comment. Spellberg sharply criticized the novel from a historical perspective, and also reportedly told Random House publishing the book might result in violence by radical Muslims. Subsequently, Random House indefinitely postponed publication, citing concerns about violence from extremists.<ref name="wsj-nomani">{{cite news|first=Asra Q.|last=Nomani|authorlink=Asra Nomani|title=You Still Can't Write About Mohammad|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121797979078815073|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company]]|date=2008-08-06|access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref>

[[Asra Nomani]] wrote about the events in an opinion piece for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', in which she characterized Spellberg as "the instigator of the trouble".<ref name="wsj-nomani"/> In the wake of Nomani's article, a number of publications printed pieces criticizing Spellberg's actions as tantamount to advocating censorship.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/21/AR2008082103104.html "Random Error" (editorial)], ''Washington Post'', August 22, 2008.</ref><ref>"The Triumph of Threats" (editorial), ''Jyllands-Posten'' (translation into English by Gates of Vienna blog), August 22, 2008</ref><ref>[http://gatesofvienna.net/2008/08/the-triumph-of-threats "The triumph of threats"], gatesofvienna.net, August 2008; accessed December 9, 2014.</ref><ref>Bob Hoover, "Censorship Never Goes Out of Style", ''The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', August 31, 2008 [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08244/907791-44.stm]</ref><ref>"Islamic Intimidation Trumps Liberty Again, Extremists need not make a single threat to silence writers" (editorial), ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'', August 25, 2008 [http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/27343729.html]</ref><ref>Irshad Manji, "Pre-emptive Censorship is Offensive to Muslims", ''The Globe and Mail'', August 22, 2008 [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080822.wcomanji23/BNStory/specialComment/home]</ref><ref>Adam Kirsch, "Freedom's Gift to Religion", ''New York Sun'', August 26, 2008 [http://www.nysun.com/opinion/freedoms-gift-to-religion/84637]</ref><ref>Carlin Romano, "'The Jewel of Medina': Anatomy of a Ruckus", ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'', September 19, 2008 [http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i04/04b00501.htm]</ref>

Spellberg responded in the ''Wall Street Journal'', contesting Nomani's characterization of her as the "instigator" of the book's cancellation. She wrote that she was not advocating censorship, but rather offering her professional assessment of the book
and a warning about the potential reaction from some Muslims, stating "I felt it was my professional responsibility to counter this novel's [[Pseudohistory|fallacious representation]] of a very real woman's life."<ref>{{cite news|first=Denise|last=Spellberg|title=I Didn't Kill 'The Jewel of Medina'|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121824366910026293|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company]]|date=2008-08-09|access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref><ref name=Amstate1>Edward Nawotka,[http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/13/0813spellberg.html "UT professor's complaints lead to cancellation of book about Muhammad's wife"], ''The Austin American-Statesman'', August 13, 2008; accessed December 9, 2014.</ref>

==''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''==
In 2013, Spellberg published ''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''. The book discusses a copy of the [[Qur'an]] owned by [[Thomas Jefferson]] as well as Jefferson's views on Islam, arguing that his vision for religious freedom in the United States specifically included Muslims.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2013/10/12/230503444/the-surprising-story-of-thomas-jeffersons-quran "The Surprising Story Of 'Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an'"], npr.org, October 12, 2013.</ref>

==Books==

* {{cite book|title=Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr|year=1994|place=New York|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|isbn=978-0231079990}}
* ''Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders''. New York: Knopf. 2013. {{ISBN|978-0307268228}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spellberg, Denise}}
[[Category:Middle Eastern studies in the United States]]
[[Category:American historians of Islam]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Smith College alumni]]
[[Category:1950s births]]
[[Category:American women historians]]
[[Category:21st-century American historians]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]

Denise Spellberg - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 20:06, 28 September 2023