Glasgow Museums Collections Online

Details

Name

Noorah Al-Gailani

Brief Biography

Glasgow Museums, previous member of staff (Curator, 2003 - 2023)

Occupation

Curator of Islamic Civilisations

Description

Dr Noorah Al-Gailani has been Curator of Islamic Civilisations at Glasgow Museums since 2003. She interprets Islamic art and culture, both ancient and modern, through research, exhibitions and a variety of educational activities and public events.

Noorah gained her BA in Interior Design from the College of Fine Arts, Baghdad University, 1989, her MA in Museum Studies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London in 1994 and her PhD in Theology from the University of Glasgow in 2016. Her work experience in Iraq included furniture design and folk-art preservation. Between 1994 and 1996 Noorah was Project Officer at the Grange Museum of Community History, London Borough of Brent, and Assistant Curator at the Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage. Between 1996 and 2003 she was the Curator of John Wesley’s House and the Museum of Methodism, London.

Noorah's PhD thesis The Shrine of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī in Baghdad & the Shrine of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Jīlānī in ʿAqra: Mapping the multiple orientations of two Qādirī Sufi shrines in Iraq investigates the material culture of Sufism in Islam.

Her publications include co-authoring The Islamic Year, surahs, stories and celebrations Hawthorn Press, Stroud, 2002, written for non-Muslim children wishing to explore Islam informally.

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