Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons

Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons (born August 9, 1944, as Gwendolyn Robinson) is an American activist and retired academic. She is senior lecturer emerita at the University of Florida since her retirement in 2019. Her research has explored Islamic feminism and the impact of Sharia law on Muslim women.

Early life and education Gwendolyn Robinson was born in 1944 in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was raised by her Baptist grandmother (who had been a sharecropper and whose own mother had been a slave), Robinson was raised with the knowledge of her family history and the ways in which it was affected by slavery and its legacies. Her family valued and encouraged her to pursue education, and she became the first in her family to attend college.

Simmons enrolled at Spelman College in 1962. Soon after she began classes, she was summoned by the dean of students, who deemed her natural hair to be an "embarrassment" to the school and its expectations that students be "well-groomed." This would become one of several disputes Simmons experienced with the Spelman administration as her involvement with student activism began to increase. In 1989, Simmons completed her B.A. at Antioch University, where she studied Human Services. She went on to study at Temple University, receiving an M.A. and a Ph.D. in religion with a focus on Islam, and a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies. She wrote her dissertation on "The Contemporary Impact of Shari'ah Law on Women's Lives in Jordan and Palestine."

In 1963, she successfully ran to become a Spelman representative to SNCC's coordinating committee. This time, she was rebuked by Spelman President Manley, and had her scholarship revoked. In light of these punitive measures, friends and fellow demonstrators throughout the Atlanta University Center rallied to Simmons' support, organizing a march to President Manley's house. She continued taking classes during the spring of 1964, and she assisted Staughton Lynd in developing curriculum for the upcoming Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and preparing materials for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

1967-1972 During her time in SNCC, Simmons first heard Malcolm X on a record and was instantly drawn to his message. She officially joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1967 and converted to Islam. From Chicago, Simmons and her husband, Michael Simmons, moved to New York, joining Minister Louis Farrakhan's Mosque No. 7.

In her reflections of her time spent with the NOI, Simmons expressed displeasure with the gender hierarchy that governed women's limited role in organizing:

Simmons directly contravened NOI teachings in a number of ways, for instance, by using birth control despite the beliefs of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad, who viewed birth control as an attack on black families. She refrained from wearing the Muslim Girls Training uniform and headscarf, choosing not to complicate her organizing efforts with religious expression. Other criticisms Simmons expressed regarding the NOI concerned the emphasis on money that burdened poor members, the militaristic and gendered hierarchy, and the use of corporal punishments. She left the organization in 1972.

Her teaching at the University of Florida centered on race, gender, and religion, particularly on African American religious traditions and women's relationship with Islam. She has expressed concern over the ignorance in American Muslim communities of the Islamic feminist movement. Her writings address issues facing African Americans, such as teen pregnancy, as well as broader concerns related to Third World inequities. Both Simmons and her daughter have been outspoken about Aishah's experiences with rape and incest.

Writings "Striving for Muslim Women's Human Rights--Before and Beyond Beijing," Syracuse University Press (2000) "Racism in Higher Education," University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy (2002) "Are we up to the challenge? The need for a radical re-ordering of the Islamic discourse on women," Oneworld Publications (2003) "African American Islam as an Expression of Converts' Religious Faith and Nationalist Dreams and Ambitions," University of Texas Press (2006) "From Muslims in America to American Muslims," Journal of Islamic Law and Culture (2008) "Mama Told Me Not To Go," Pearson Prentice Hall (2008) "Martin Luther King Jr. Revisited: A Black Power Feminist Pays Homage to the King," Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (2008) "From Little Memphis Girl to Mississippi Amazon," University of Illinois Press (2010)