THE LADY IMAM | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Jun 16, 2026 6:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Jun 16, 2026 6:00 pm
14th & V
Join us to learn about the most famous Islamic woman scholar working today, from the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author Carla Power
The soul-stirring intersectional biography of the most famous Islamic woman scholar working today, from the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author of If the Oceans Were Ink and Home, Land, Security.
"A testament to what it means to labor for justice from inside a faith tradition--to love it enough to transform it . . . The Lady Imam is right on time to ignite our courage."--Valarie Kaur, bestselling author of See No Stranger and Sage Warrior
A feminist scholar-activist, single mother of five, and queer advocate, amina wadud has led a struggle against Islam's patriarchal establishment that's been felt keenly all over the world. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X before her, wadud has mobilized faith's potential as an engine of equality. Yet this American trail-blazer's story has never been told in book form--until now.
Born Mary Teasley, the daughter of a Methodist preacher, wadud grew up in Maryland with a rare vantage on socioeconomic divides, living through poverty and her sister's death from an illegal abortion. A gifted student, teenage wadud was sent to live with affluent white families in Weston, Massachusetts. After cross-country hitchhiking and a stint in a Buddhist ashram, she converted to Islam as a twenty-year-old Ivy League student.
wadud devoted her life to studying the Qur'an and challenged centuries of patriarchal interpretations, finding in it equality for all. In Manhattan in 2005, she became the world's most famous--and infamous--Islamic scholar when she became the first woman in 1400 years to lead men and women together in public Friday prayers.
The Lady Imam chronicles the life of a singular figure not only in Islam, but also in feminism, Black history, and gender studies. With unprecedented access through years of interviews and archival research, Carla Power has written the definitive account of wadud's extraordinary life while shedding light on our deepest questions about faith, family, and social justice.
Carla Power is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Dr. Aminah Beverly (McCloud) Al-Deen to celebrate the release of The Lady Imam and share more about the life and legacy of amina wadud.
