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Dima El-Mouallem

Graduate Student

E-mail: delmouallem@g.ucla.edu

Dima is a translator with an M.A. in Islamic Studies from the American University of Beirut. Her M.A. explored the themes of colloquy and soliloquy in Arabo-Islamic literature from various perspectives and time periods. At AUB, she worked as a graduate tutor. She also worked in Archives & Special Collections, cataloging materials related to the Sayfo. Her translations in the fields of Arabic literature and Islamic Studies have appeared in numerous publications, and she was shortlisted for ArabLit’s Story Prize for her translation of Said Takieddine’s “Ghābat al-kāfūr” (2021). Her scholarly publications include “The Miraculous Infant Imām: Nativity and Childhood of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī,” and “For the Sake of the Infant Imām: The Development of the Errant Angel Traditions.” Before coming to UCLA, she worked as an Arabic proofreader of a collated manuscript edition of a Nusayri doctrinal treatise by Muḥammad b. ʿAlī Iṣmat al-Dawla, entitled Manhaj al-ʿilm wa l-bayān wa-nuzhat al-samāʿ wa l-ʿiyān. At UCLA, her doctoral thesis aims to explore the portrayal of animals in premodern Arabic literature.

Education

Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (in progress), UCLA
M.A. in Islamic Studies, American University of Beirut

Research

Classical Arabic literature; Imāmī Shīʿism; Qurʾānic studies; Islamic theology; Islamic ethics; Islamic Spain (al-Andalus); miracles; ʿajāʾib works.

Publications

Articles

“The Miraculous Infant Imām: Nativity and Childhood of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī,” in Narrative Culture 1, (2020): 1-23.
“For the Sake of the Infant Imām: The Development of the Errant Angel Traditions,” in Shii Studies Review, 4 (2020): 108-134.

Honors & Awards

2022-2023, 2025-2026: Mellon Fellowship (University of California, Los Angeles).
2022-2023, 2025-2026: Pauley Fellowship (University of California, Los Angeles).
2022-2025: Kerr Family Fellowship (University of California, Los Angeles).
2021: ArabLit Story Prize (shortlisted).
2015-2018: Full Graduate Assistantship (American University of Beirut).