Dr. Stephennie Mulder
@stephenniem.bsky.social
Assoc prof of Islamic art at UT Austin, 24-25 NEH Fellow, Syria, archaeology, heritage. Formerly world-renowned author of "The Citizen Kane of Islam-centric cat-themed Twitter threads", now making an Arabic/English digital game set in 8th c. Syria
Back in my favorite spot at @dai-weltweit.bsky.social Berlin
August 5, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Back in my favorite spot at @dai-weltweit.bsky.social Berlin
Crescent-shaped earrings encircling confronted birds, constructed with gold wire, granulation, and filigree
Iran, 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Art
Iran, 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Art
June 30, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Crescent-shaped earrings encircling confronted birds, constructed with gold wire, granulation, and filigree
Iran, 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Art
Iran, 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Art
Wait till he hears who invented the reflecting pool
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian...
June 23, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Wait till he hears who invented the reflecting pool
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian...
A few scenes from a recent trip to Cairo. It will always be Umm al-Dunya: Mother of the World
May 5, 2026 at 5:42 PM
A few scenes from a recent trip to Cairo. It will always be Umm al-Dunya: Mother of the World
Yale! Join us today for what will no doubt be a fascinating conference with some brilliant young students. They’re giving me hope for the future ✨✨✨ arthistory.yale.edu/event/sohbat...
March 27, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Yale! Join us today for what will no doubt be a fascinating conference with some brilliant young students. They’re giving me hope for the future ✨✨✨ arthistory.yale.edu/event/sohbat...
If you ignore the first three minutes where I was nervous and said “you know” like 5000 times, this is a very nice interview about my first book! Thank you to the Shi'a Research Institute for being interested and for the wonderful conversation. shiaresearch.ca/insight-inte...
February 23, 2026 at 6:49 PM
If you ignore the first three minutes where I was nervous and said “you know” like 5000 times, this is a very nice interview about my first book! Thank you to the Shi'a Research Institute for being interested and for the wonderful conversation. shiaresearch.ca/insight-inte...
And that is how this super bowl, this lovely, shimmering object, embodies a story about the global interconnections of the medieval world, a world of diverse religious traditions and a reminder of a vibrant trade spanning the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean basin.
February 8, 2026 at 5:32 PM
And that is how this super bowl, this lovely, shimmering object, embodies a story about the global interconnections of the medieval world, a world of diverse religious traditions and a reminder of a vibrant trade spanning the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean basin.
oooh we are posting super bowls?
As a specialist in Islamic ceramics *cracks knuckles* I present this fabulous 11th c. lustre painted bowl from Fatimid Cairo depicting a Coptic priest. Its white glaze imitates Chinese porcelain and the lustre technique was invented in Iraq a century earlier.
As a specialist in Islamic ceramics *cracks knuckles* I present this fabulous 11th c. lustre painted bowl from Fatimid Cairo depicting a Coptic priest. Its white glaze imitates Chinese porcelain and the lustre technique was invented in Iraq a century earlier.
February 8, 2026 at 5:04 PM
oooh we are posting super bowls?
As a specialist in Islamic ceramics *cracks knuckles* I present this fabulous 11th c. lustre painted bowl from Fatimid Cairo depicting a Coptic priest. Its white glaze imitates Chinese porcelain and the lustre technique was invented in Iraq a century earlier.
As a specialist in Islamic ceramics *cracks knuckles* I present this fabulous 11th c. lustre painted bowl from Fatimid Cairo depicting a Coptic priest. Its white glaze imitates Chinese porcelain and the lustre technique was invented in Iraq a century earlier.
These funds have enabled Ahmad to not only come close to finishing his PhD but also to buy winter clothes for his daughter, to whom he is completely devoted.
I am not even making this up you guys this is a real photo of what he bought 😭 😭 Come on let’s help him out!
I am not even making this up you guys this is a real photo of what he bought 😭 😭 Come on let’s help him out!
October 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
These funds have enabled Ahmad to not only come close to finishing his PhD but also to buy winter clothes for his daughter, to whom he is completely devoted.
I am not even making this up you guys this is a real photo of what he bought 😭 😭 Come on let’s help him out!
I am not even making this up you guys this is a real photo of what he bought 😭 😭 Come on let’s help him out!
No President Trump, people in the Middle East haven’t been fighting for thousands of years: actually, pragmatic coexistence was the historical norm
I wrote about this the last time this tiresome false claim was trotted out by a Trump administration official
time.com/5764119/midd...
I wrote about this the last time this tiresome false claim was trotted out by a Trump administration official
time.com/5764119/midd...
October 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
No President Trump, people in the Middle East haven’t been fighting for thousands of years: actually, pragmatic coexistence was the historical norm
I wrote about this the last time this tiresome false claim was trotted out by a Trump administration official
time.com/5764119/midd...
I wrote about this the last time this tiresome false claim was trotted out by a Trump administration official
time.com/5764119/midd...
17th first day of school on UT Austin’s campus and despite everything I am just as excited as ever. The kids are alright everyone ❤️
August 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
17th first day of school on UT Austin’s campus and despite everything I am just as excited as ever. The kids are alright everyone ❤️
Only a few days left to vote for our #sxsw & #swswedu proposal Gaming Islamic History, which seem to be the only entries on an Islamic topic out of 3K proposals! That's plain crazy, ya’ll.
Help us out! Username and password and you’re in!
tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Help us out! Username and password and you’re in!
tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
August 19, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Only a few days left to vote for our #sxsw & #swswedu proposal Gaming Islamic History, which seem to be the only entries on an Islamic topic out of 3K proposals! That's plain crazy, ya’ll.
Help us out! Username and password and you’re in!
tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Help us out! Username and password and you’re in!
tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Our panel Gaming Islamic History has made it to the first selection round for @sxsw.com!
Want to see gaming embrace richer, more accurate representations of the Islamic world? Vote for us! @gamingislamshow.bsky.social
sxsw: tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
sxsw edu: tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Want to see gaming embrace richer, more accurate representations of the Islamic world? Vote for us! @gamingislamshow.bsky.social
sxsw: tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
sxsw edu: tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
August 11, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Our panel Gaming Islamic History has made it to the first selection round for @sxsw.com!
Want to see gaming embrace richer, more accurate representations of the Islamic world? Vote for us! @gamingislamshow.bsky.social
sxsw: tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
sxsw edu: tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Want to see gaming embrace richer, more accurate representations of the Islamic world? Vote for us! @gamingislamshow.bsky.social
sxsw: tinyurl.com/gamingislamS...
sxsw edu: tinyurl.com/gamingislami...
Just discovered my edited volume Imagining Antiquity in Islamic Societies got a nice review in the Journal of Islamic Archaeology. Thank you @peterjbrown.bsky.social for the review and thanks to all the brilliant contributors!
journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/...
journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/...
June 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Just discovered my edited volume Imagining Antiquity in Islamic Societies got a nice review in the Journal of Islamic Archaeology. Thank you @peterjbrown.bsky.social for the review and thanks to all the brilliant contributors!
journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/...
journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/...
The shrine of Sayyida Zaynab dates to the medieval era and the story of its important role in Syria's sacred history forms an important chapter of my 2014 book, the Shrines of the 'Alids in Medieval Syria. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-shr...
January 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The shrine of Sayyida Zaynab dates to the medieval era and the story of its important role in Syria's sacred history forms an important chapter of my 2014 book, the Shrines of the 'Alids in Medieval Syria. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-shr...
Good morning to
a free Syria!
سوريا حرة!
a free Syria!
سوريا حرة!
December 8, 2024 at 2:18 PM
Good morning to
a free Syria!
سوريا حرة!
a free Syria!
سوريا حرة!
My first book, the Shrines of the ‘Alids in Medieval Syria, was about these very shrines, which have been revered by both Shi’is and Sunnis for over a millennium. Hoping this ensures the continued care of these important and locally-beloved sites of holiness www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/w...
December 7, 2024 at 11:06 PM
My first book, the Shrines of the ‘Alids in Medieval Syria, was about these very shrines, which have been revered by both Shi’is and Sunnis for over a millennium. Hoping this ensures the continued care of these important and locally-beloved sites of holiness www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/w...
good afternoon from Ms. Layla, who is very elegant
December 3, 2024 at 8:34 PM
good afternoon from Ms. Layla, who is very elegant
came home to find my husband has been working on our retirement plan
December 3, 2024 at 12:39 AM
came home to find my husband has been working on our retirement plan
Over the next 1,400 years, Islamic artists would take these late Antique themes to extraordinary heights, creating one of the world's great artistic and intellectual traditions. Tune in next Monday for the next installment in #IslamicArt100Objects!
December 2, 2024 at 7:46 PM
Over the next 1,400 years, Islamic artists would take these late Antique themes to extraordinary heights, creating one of the world's great artistic and intellectual traditions. Tune in next Monday for the next installment in #IslamicArt100Objects!
So Islamic art continued this very serious late Antique exploration of the power of abstraction, and this is why the first two objects in my history of Islamic art in 100 objects are a Byzantine mosaic and a Sasanian gold platter inset with rock crystal, garnets, and glass.
December 2, 2024 at 7:46 PM
So Islamic art continued this very serious late Antique exploration of the power of abstraction, and this is why the first two objects in my history of Islamic art in 100 objects are a Byzantine mosaic and a Sasanian gold platter inset with rock crystal, garnets, and glass.
I mean no hate to European art, which did achieve remarkable heights in its pursuit of illusionism. But y'all illusionism is just one particular skill set. I mean good for you for figuring that out, Europe, but eventually you too came to understand that abstraction is powerful...
December 2, 2024 at 7:46 PM
I mean no hate to European art, which did achieve remarkable heights in its pursuit of illusionism. But y'all illusionism is just one particular skill set. I mean good for you for figuring that out, Europe, but eventually you too came to understand that abstraction is powerful...
As recently as 1904, the famed Egyptian jurist Muhammad Abduh issued a fatwa declaring that prohibitions of images in the Hadith were primarily relevant for idols and that images of other kinds were beneficial.
December 2, 2024 at 7:45 PM
As recently as 1904, the famed Egyptian jurist Muhammad Abduh issued a fatwa declaring that prohibitions of images in the Hadith were primarily relevant for idols and that images of other kinds were beneficial.
Two truths: One: Islamic art tends to make a strong distinction between figural imagery in religious contexts (mosques, Qur'ans) and what we might consider secular ones (palaces, inlaid basins). Two: Islamic art *does* represent a deep and sustained exploration of the possibilities of abstraction.
December 2, 2024 at 7:45 PM
Two truths: One: Islamic art tends to make a strong distinction between figural imagery in religious contexts (mosques, Qur'ans) and what we might consider secular ones (palaces, inlaid basins). Two: Islamic art *does* represent a deep and sustained exploration of the possibilities of abstraction.