Social Science Research Council

Ingrid Mattson is Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy at the Macdonald Center for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. Dr. Mattson was born in Canada, where she studied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Ontario (B.A. '87). From 1987-1988 she lived in Pakistan where she worked with Afghan refugee women. In 1995 she served as advisor to the Afghan delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. In 2001 Dr. Mattson was elected Vice-President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest religious organization for Muslims on the continent. She was re-elected to that position in 2004. Dr. Mattson earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1999. Her research is focused on Islamic law and society. Her recent articles include, "How Muslims use Islamic paradigms to define America," and "Relative and Absolute Definitions of Poverty in Early Islamic Zakat and Maintenance Laws."