Richard Bulliet (1994) asserts that the process of conversion shaped Islamic society as cities outside the Arab world (such as Khurasan in northeastern Iran) became significant centers for religious practice and learning, thereby supporting the institutionalization of Islamic belief and learning in imperial capitals. But, as his student Elizabeth Thompson points out, “Missing from Bulliet's story – and missing from most standard histories of Islamic institutions – were women” (2004, 308). Acros…