Zahra is a PhD candidate at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, where she researches the social and intellectual history of early Twelver Shiʿism as part of the project Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shiʿi Community, 700–900 CE. Her dissertation centers on the concubine mothers of the Imams and their role in the legitimacy issues surrounding the Imamate.

More information about Zahra Azhar

Fields of interest

• Islamic Studies
• Islamic History
• Islamic Legal Studies
• Shiism, Gender Studies
• Unfreedom Studies 

Research

Generally, Zahra works on the social and legal history of Shiʿism . Her research is part of a larger project called "Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shiʿi Community, 700–900 CE," which aims to understand how the Shiʿi community took shape in its early years. Zahra’s dissertation specifically investigates the role of concubine mothers of the Imams, examining how these women influenced issues of legitimacy within the Shiʿi community. Just as key family figures can shape a dynasty’s future, Zahra's work looks at how these mothers impacted the authority and acceptance of the Imams.She very interstat to undertint the dynamic of pawer, slavery and gender in the history of the early Shia community.

Curriculum Vitae

Zahra Azhar is a PhD candidate at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, where she researches the social and legal history of early Shiʿism as part of the "Embodied Imamate" project. She previously earned her MA and PhD in Public Law at Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), graduating with first-class honors and receiving several awards. Alongside her academic studies, Zahra studied traditional seminary (ḥawza) studies at Al-Zahra (Qom) and the Al-Mahdi Institute (Birmingham). Before joining Leiden University and the Embodied Imamate project, Zahra worked as an Assistant to the Research Deputy at the Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, and served as a legal assistant in The Hague.

Selected publications

Zahra Azhar, “Leadership in the modern Shīʿī Thought: Zahra Azhar, Examining the theory of Imam Khomeini”, Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 8(2), 55–75. 

✓Zahra Azhar, Seyed Masoud Noori, Shīʿī Ideas of Slavery, Journal of Islamic Law at Harvard Law School. Volume 3, Spring 2022.