Understanding Shariah: Its Sources, History, and Tensions
An introduction to the sources of shariah, its historical development, and the questions surrounding its interpretation and practice today.
Read the essayWriting & research
Islam, history,
and public life.
Selected essays, podcasts, historical scholarship, and translations. My work asks how religious communities understand one another, in the texts they inherit and the lives they share.
Essays & public scholarship
For readers beyond the classroom.
Covenantal Pluralism and Religious Literacy in Morocco
Reflections on religious knowledge, Christian minorities, and the work of building sustained relationships across religious differences in Morocco.
Read the essayFulbright and Israel Essays
Personal reflections on cultural exchange, friendship, and family life during a Fulbright fellowship in Israel.
Read the essaysPodcasts & conversations
Listen to the conversation.
Angels in Islam
A discussion of angels in Islamic and Christian thought.
Listen on Spotify
A Christian’s Surprising Insights on Islam
A conversation with Ali Hindi about studying Islam, religious difference, and interfaith dialogue.
Listen on Apple PodcastsHistorical research
Islamic law and religious communities.
The Hermeneutical Christian in Ḥanbalī Thought
Research on Christians as subjects of Islamic legal thought and the purposes their representation serves within the Ḥanbalī tradition.
View the dissertationHanbalism
A contribution on the Ḥanbalī tradition to a scholarly database for the comparative study of religious history.
View the database entryBetween Baghdad and the Mediterranean
A chapter placing Baghdad within the wider history of the medieval Mediterranean world.
View the publisher’s book pageAl-Khallāl in Christian-Muslim Relations
A scholarly reference entry on the Ḥanbalī jurist Abū Bakr al-Khallāl.
View the Brill publicationBetween Christ and Caliph
A review of Lev Weitz’s study of law, marriage, and Christian community in early Islam.
View the journal reviewTranslation & editorial work
Arabic sources, wider audiences.
Asfār: Treasures of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
Translation for an exhibition of rare manuscripts from the King Faisal Center’s collections.
View the exhibitionThe Parade of Mummies: A Symbolic Reading of Simulation in Historical Events
An Arabic-to-English translation of a commentary on historical memory and public symbolism.
View the publicationA Narrative of Arab-Islamic Civilization
Gallery texts and artifact cards for the permanent exhibition, translated with E. Stecher.
View the museumReport on the State of Culture, 2020: Digitalization of Culture
An Arabic-to-English cultural report produced with a team of translators.
Read the report (PDF)Report on the State of Culture, 2019: Facts and Figures
A national cultural report, archived with New York University’s Ministry of Culture resource collection.
Read the report (PDF)An Iranian Jurisprudential Campaign: To Silence Grand Ayatollah al-Haydari
An Arabic-to-English commentary, translated with E. Stecher.
View the publicationFull bibliography: chapters, entries, reviews, and translations
- PreJean, C. (2025). Between Baghdad and the Mediterranean. In J. M. Fregulia (Ed.), Windows into the Medieval Mediterranean. Routledge. View source
- PreJean, C. (2022). Hanbalism. In Database of Religious History. University of British Columbia. View source
- PreJean, C. (2021). Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn Abū Bakr al-Khallāl al-Ḥanbalī al-Baghdādī. In D. Thomas, A. Mallett, J. P. Monferrer-Sala, J. Pahlitzsch, B. Roggema, M. Swanson, H. Teule, & J. Tolan (Eds.), Christian-Muslim relations 600–1500. Brill. View source
- PreJean, C. (2021). Abū Bakr al-Khallāl. In B. Roggema & A. Cuffel (Eds.), Jewish-Christian relations from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean: A source history (600–1800). ARC Humanities Press.
- PreJean, C. (2019). Abū Bakr al-Khallāl. In J. Meri (Ed.), Medieval Islamic civilization: An encyclopedia (Online ed.). Routledge.
- PreJean, C. (2019). [Review of the book Between Christ and caliph: Law, marriage, and Christian community in early Islam, by L. Weitz]. Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 50, 243–248. View source
- King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. (2022). Asfār: Treasures of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies [Exhibition] (C. PreJean, Trans.). Al-Faisal Museum for Arab-Islamic Art, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. View source
- King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. (2022). A narrative of Arab-Islamic civilization [Sardiyyat al-ḥaḍāra al-ʿArabiyya al-Islāmiyya; Permanent exhibition; gallery texts and artifact cards] (C. PreJean, Ed. & Trans.; E. Stecher, Trans.). Al-Faisal Museum for Arab-Islamic Art, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. View source
- Kashgari, H. (2021, October). The parade of mummies: A symbolic reading of simulation in historical events (C. PreJean, Trans.; Commentaries). King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. View source
- Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (2021). Report on the state of culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2020: Digitalization of culture (C. PreJean, Ed. & Trans.; H. Adney, M. Courtney, A. Kaplan, C. Piraino, T. Poonawala, & E. Stecher, Trans.) [C. PreJean, project manager]. View source
- Al-Khayoun, R. (2020, December). An Iranian jurisprudential campaign: To silence Grand Ayatollah al-Haydari (C. PreJean, Ed. & Trans.; E. Stecher, Trans.; Commentaries). King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. View source
- Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (2020). Report on the state of culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2019: Facts and figures (C. PreJean, Ed. & Trans.; H. Adney, M. Courtney, A. Kaplan, & E. Stecher, Trans.) [C. PreJean, project manager]. View source
In progress
Continuing the conversation.
Current projects extend this work into Christian witness, religious communities, and neighborhood trust.
- The Muslim Way and Christian Witness, accepted for publication at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
- Experiencing Shariah, submitted to ThinkChristian.
- Non-Muslim Religious Communities, a translation in preparation for submission to Liverpool University Press.
- The Covenantal Waqf and Neighborhood Trust, in preparation with Iqbal Akhtar.