Rebecca Masterton is a British Shia Islamic scholar, author and television presenter.

Early life

Masterton was born to a Christian family. She converted to Islam in 1999 and became a Shia Muslim in 2003. She moved to London at the age of eighteen. She attended the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

London, and received a BA in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, an MA in Comparative

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and African Literature, and a PhD in francophone and Islamic mystical literature of West Africa.

Career

Masterton's academic work focuses on

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

spirituality, colonialism, and modernity. She has previously taught at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. She has appeared on Iranian Islamic media programs by

Sahar TV Sahar TV (, ''Shabake-e Sahar'', ''SAHARTV''), is the name of an Iranian TV channels that is part of Sahar Universal Network (SUN) which is the branch of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting responsible for broadcasting programs internationall ...

Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news media organisation, owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), that broadcasts in the English and French languages. The 24-hour channel, which has headquarters in Tehra ...

, HadiTV, and on the British Shia broadcaster Ahlulbayt TV. Masterton is also a senior lecturer at

The Islamic College The Islamic College is a London-based academic institution specialising in Islamic Studies at both the graduate and the undergraduate levels. Until March 2023 its degree programmes were validated by Middlesex University. In March 2023 the ins ...

in London. She has also published her book of short stories ''Passing Through the Dream... To the Other Side.''

Works

Books

*''Shī‘ī Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century'' (London: Light Reading, 2020) *''Passing Through the Dream... To the Other Side''. (Light Reading, 2008) Translations * ''The Moral World of the Qur’an'', by M. A. Draz, translated from French * ''The Inner Dimensions of Hajj,'' by Zohreh Borujerdi'','' translated from Persian

Articles

* A comparative exploration of the spiritual authority of the awliyā' in the Shi'ī and Sūfī traditions with reference to the works of the Dhahabī Order and Allamah Tabataba'i *

Walayah Welayah or Walaya (, meaning "guardianship" or "governance") is a general concept of the Islamic faith and a key word in Shia Islam that refers, among other things, to the nature and function of the Imamate. Welayah is something that can be ...

as a Response to the Self-Other Dichotomy in European Philosophy * Islamic Mystical Resonances in

Fulbe The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

Literature * Islamic Mystical Readings of

Cheikh Hamidou Kane Cheikh Hamidou Kane (born 2 April 1928) is a Senegalese writer best known for his 1961 novel ''L'Aventure ambiguë'' (''Ambiguous Adventure''), about the interactions of western and African cultures. Its hero is a Fulani boy who goes to study i ...

's Ambiguous Adventure * A Critical Comparison of Cosmic Hierarchies in the Development of Christian and Islamic Mystical Theology

References

External links

Dr. Rebecca Masterton's profile at the Islamic College

Rebecca Masterton's page on al-Islam.org

Academia.edu profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masterton, Rebecca 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam British scholars of Islam British philosophers Living people British Shia Muslims Year of birth missing (living people) Converts to Shia Islam from Christianity Ahlulbayt TV people Female Shia scholars of Islam Women scholars of Islam