Imam Ali Research Center Announces Inaugural Fellowship Appointment

The Imam Ali Research Center (IARC), in affiliation with Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (HIU), is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Noor Zehra Zaidi, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as the Inaugural Fellow of IARC. 

Dr. Zaidi is an accomplished scholar whose research focuses on Shi'a history, memory, and ritual practices. She will be publishing her forthcoming monograph, Traces of Zainab, Daughter of Ali: Ritual, Memory, and Place in Shi'a Islam, a groundbreaking contribution to the study of Shi'a Islam and Islamic history. 

In her capacity as Inaugural Fellow, Dr. Zaidi will: ·

• Teach a course in Shi'a Studies at HIU, expanding academic offerings in this emerging field
• Develop the manuscript abstract for her second project, Traces and Transfer: Life and Death in Wadi al-Salam, Najaf, Iraq
• Assist in coordinating the Annual Ghadeer Conference, an HIU tradition under the supervision of Dr. Hossein Kamaly
• Support the creation of a graduate student network at IARC, fostering future scholarly collaboration. 

“With the blessings of Imam Ali (AS), we are honored to welcome Dr. Zaidi as our inaugural fellow,” said Dr. Hossein Kamaly, Professor of Islamic Studies and Interreligious Studies, and holder of the Imam Ali Chair in Shi'a Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought. “Her scholarship, teaching, and leadership will lay the foundations of IARC’s service to U.S. academia and the heritage of the Ahlulbayt.”

This fellowship marks a historic step in the establishment of IARC as a hub of rigorous academic inquiry, interfaith dialogue, and service to the advancement of Islamic and Shi'a studies in the United States.