Teresa Bernheimer is a distinguished scholar in early Islamic history and Jewish-Arab relations, recognized for her interdisciplinary research bridging religious, social, and textual studies. Her work explores the intricate intersections of Islamicate societies, with a particular focus on the early Islamic period, genealogical traditions, and sectarian movements such as the Kharijites. She has published extensively on the social history of the ʿAlid family, early Islamic historiography, and the development of Shiʿism, contributing to leading journals and encyclopedias including Der Islam, Studia Islamica, and the Bulletin of SOAS. Author and editor of several influential books – such as The ʿAlids: The First Family of Islam, 750–1200 and Synopses and Lists: Textual Practices in the Pre-Modern World – she combines textual analysis with historical contextualization to illuminate the formation of Islamic identities and institutions. Her editorial leadership in The Islamicate East: New Approaches to Texts and History and her role in organizing major academic workshops reflect her commitment to advancing collaborative scholarship and innovative methodologies in the study of the pre-modern Middle East. Through her work, Bernheimer has significantly shaped contemporary understandings of Islamic historiography, sectarianism, and the entangled narratives of Jewish and Arab cultures, establishing herself as a leading figure in the fields of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies.
Profile: Orcid
Featured Publications
Bernheimer, T. (2025, August 20). Scribal building blocks and funerary inscriptions in 9th-century Egypt. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
Bernheimer, T., & Korn, L. (2025). Eleven Islamic tombstones from Egypt: A window into the histories of early Islamization and of modern dislocation. Der Islam, 102(1), 67–129.
Bernheimer, T., & Rippin, A. (2015). Studies in the early history of Islam, in honour of G. R. Hawting. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 78(1).
Bernheimer, T., & Bayhoum-Daou, T. (Eds.). (2013). Early Islamic history: Critical concepts in Islamic studies (Vols. 1–4). Routledge.
Bernheimer, T. (2013). Shared sanctity: Early tombs and shrines of the ‘Alid family in the eastern Islamic lands. Studia Islamica, 108(1), 1–15.