Dr Yafiah Randall

Biography

Dr Yafiah Katherine Randall gained her First Class BA Hons in Arab Studies at the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. She completed an MA with Distinction in Contemporary Religions and Spiritualities at Bath Spa University.

She gained her Doctorate in the Department of Theology, Religion and Philosophy, University of Winchester. Her thesis is titled 'Remembering Al-Andalus: Sufi Pathways of Engagement Between Jews and Muslims in Israel and Their Contribution to Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation'. The study combines her interest in Sufism and in Jewish-Muslim relations. It is being prepared for publication by Routledge under the title Sufism and Jewish-Muslim Relations: The Derekh Avraham Order in Israel.

Yafiah has also been active in Jewish-Muslim interfaith work and as a guest speaker on several broadcasts for Radio Salaam Shalom, a Jewish-Muslim radio station in Bristol, UK.

Yahiah is currently a member of the University's Centre for Religiion, Reconciliation and Peace.

Publications

• "Loving the 'Enemy': An Alternative Narrative on Jewish-Muslim Relations' in P. Hedges (ed.), Controversies in Contemporary Religions, Volume 3: Issues in Traditions and Case Studies, (Praeger Multi-Volume Series, September 2014).

• 'Entering Jerusalem: Deconstructing Assumptions on Identity as a Researcher and as a Sufi' an article for a themed edition of the BASR journal DISKUS, 2015.

• 'Faith, Authenticity and Action: The Jewish/Muslim Sufi Network in Israel' (in Hebrew), in proceedings of a conference on Islam in Israel at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on May 25-26, 2012 under the auspices of both the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy and the Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies.