Dr Mahshid Turner

Senior Lecturer in Theology and Pastoral Care

Dr Mahshid Turner is Muslim Chaplain at Durham University and an independent researcher and lecturer. She was the first female Muslim chaplain to be appointed in UK higher education. She holds a Master’s in Public Health, a Master’s in Muslim Chaplaincy, Counselling and Pastoral Care, and a PhD in Muslim Theology.

Alongside her academic and chaplaincy work, Dr Turner has led a number of community projects, particularly in support of minority ethnic communities. Her previous roles include SEWA Project Officer for Age Concern’s Minority Ethnic Community and Community Health Specialist for Sure Start. She currently serves as a Co-Chair of Durham University’s BAME Network.

Dr Turner is also Head of Education and Outreach at the International Foundation for Muslim Theology, where her work includes lecturing, organising conferences, and delivering workshops. Her work brings together academic scholarship, pastoral care, and community engagement, with particular interests in spiritual reflection and education.

Her publications include The Muslim Theology of Huzn: Sorrow Unravelled (Gerlach Press, 2018) and, as editor, Muslim Chaplaincy Handbook and Voices of Muslim Women Chaplains in Higher Education (Gerlach Press, 2025). She contributed “An Analysis of the Quranic Understanding of Angels” to Divine Revelation and Communication: Contemporary Muslim Theological Approaches (2025) and contributed to The Islam Book (2020). Her journal publications include “Can the Effects of Religion and Spirituality on Both Physical and Mental Health be Scientifically Measured? An Overview of the Key Sources, with Particular Reference to the Teachings of Said Nursi”, published in the Journal of Religion & Health in 2014.

At The Classical Institute, Dr Turner leads Finding Meaning & Moral Responsibility: A God-Centred Approach to Pastoral Care, a structured six-part programme examining meaning, selfhood, moral responsibility, and the human condition through a God-centred framework grounded in Qurʾanic anthropology and prophetic models. Her teaching considers the significance of these questions for pastoral care, chaplaincy, healthcare, education, and wider questions of human flourishing.