Curriculum Vitae

1990       Ph.D. History of Religions, Department of History, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

Ph.D. Dissertation: “The Rijal of the Shi'i Imams as Depicted in Imami Biographical Literature"

1983-85  Qum Seminary, Qum, Iran

Extended research work in Islamic jurisprudence, biographical and hadith literature, Qur’anic exegesis, Arabic, and principles of extrapolating Islamic law.

1983      M.A. History of Religions, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

M.A. Thesis: “A Study of the Doctrine of Messianism in Islam”

1978       B.Sc., Economics, Dept. of Economics, City University, London

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

2009 - Present   Professor, Sharjah Chair in Global Islam, McMaster University, Canada

2005 - 2009     Associate Professor, University of Denver

2001-2004       Assistant Professor, University of Denver

1999–2001      Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Miami

1999–2000      Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto

1998–2000      Adjunct Professor, Queen’s University and McMaster University

1996–1997      Visiting Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University

1990–1996      Director of Religious Studies, Toronto 

COURSES TAUGHT

PUBLICATIONS 

Books:

Shi‘ism in America. New York: New York University Press, September 2009.

The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Shi‘ite Islam. Albany: State University of New York, 2006.

Translation of Ziyarat Guide: Selected Supplications.  Toronto: MEBS, 2000.

Translation of Pilgrims’ Guide: Selected Supplications.  Toronto: Hydery Press, 1998.

Translation of Questions of Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study of Muslim Ritual Practices, by Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi.  Toronto: Hydery Press, 1996.

Translation of Ask Those Who Know: An Exposition of the Shi'ite Creed, by Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi.  Toronto: Hydery Press, 1995.

Submitted for Publication:

“Preserving or Extending Boundaries? The Black Shi‘is of America.” The Journal of Islamic Law and Culture (2010).

"The Ten Commandments and the Tablets in Shi‘i and Sunni Tafsir Literature: A Comparative Perspective." The Muslim World  (2009).

"Reinterpretation or Reformation: Shi‘i Law in the West." Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law (2010).

Current Research:

“Ijtihad and the Reform Movement in Islam” (working title)

Journal Articles:

"From Pacifism to Activism: Engaging the Muslim Other in America." Shi'a Affairs Journal (summer 2009).

“A Minority with Diversity: The Shi‘i Community in America.” The Journal of IslamicLaw and Culture, 10, 3 (2008): 326-341.

 “Revivalism or Reformation: The Reinterpretation of Islamic Law in Modern Times.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 25, no. 3 (2008): 61-81.

“Holy Peace or Holy War: Tolerance and Co-existence in the Islamic Juridical Tradition.” Islam and Muslim Societies, 3, no. 2 (2007): 295-307.

“The Origins of and Authentications in Shi‘i Biographical Literature.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 24, no. 4 (2007):  26-49.

 “Offering Complete or Shortened Prayers? The Traveler’s Salat at the Holy Places.” The Muslim World, 96, no. 3 (2006):  401-422.

 “Charismatic Appeal or Communitas? Visitation to the Shrines of the Imams.” Journal of Ritual Studies 18, no. 2 (2004):  106-120.

“From Conversion to Conversation: Interfaith Dialogue in Post-911 America.”  The Muslim World 94, no. 3 (2004):  343-55.

“Combining the Two Prayers: Sectarian Polemics in the Juridical Literature.”  International Journal of Shi‘i Studies 1, no. 2 (2004):  95-129.

“Authority Construction in Biographical Texts: The Cases of Humran b. A‘yan and Mu’min al-Taq.”  International Journal of Shi‘i Studies 1, no. 1 (2003):  125-55.

 “Adoration in Islamic Mystical Tradition.”  Prabuddha Bharata (“Awakened India”) (2002):  43-45.

 “From Bid‘a to Sunna: The Wilaya of ‘Ali in the Shi‘i Adhan.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 120, no. 2 (2000):  66-77.

“Foreign Influences on American Shi‘ism.”  The Muslim World 90 (2000):  459-77.

Book Articles:

“The Shi‘ite Tradition in Islam,” in World Religions: Communities and Cultures, ed. Jacob Neusner, Abingdon Press, forthcoming in 2010

“War and Peace in the Islamic Sacred Sources” in The Morality of War: Muslim and Christian Viewpoints, ed. Terence Nichols. Catholic Univ. of America Press, forthcoming in 2010.

"The Prophet Muhammad: Exemplary Model," In Great Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) Eternal Light, Imtiyaz Yusuf (ed.) (Bangkok: Cultural Center, 2009)

"The Concepts of the Absolute and Perfect Man in Mulla Fayd al-Kashani," Tehran Conference on Mulla Fayd Kashani, 2009

 “To Vote or not to Vote: The Politicization of American Islam,” In Politics and Religion in France and the United States, eds. John Kelsay, Alec Hargreaves and Sumner B. Twiss. Lexington: Lexington Books, 2007.

“From Bid‘a to Sunna: The Wilaya of ‘Ali in the Shi‘i Adhan.” In Shi’ism: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies, ed. Paul Luft and Colin Turner. Routeledge, 2007.

 “Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Islamic Tradition.”  In Religion, Terrorism and Globalization, Nonviolence: A New Agenda, ed. K. Kuriakose. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2006.

 “Charismatic Appeal or Communitas?  Visitation to the Shrines of the Imams.”  In Contesting Rituals: Islam and Practices of Identity-Making, ed. Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern.  Durham, NC:  Carolina Academic Press, 2005. 

 “Multiple Identities in a Pluralistic World:  Shi‘ism in America.” In Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens, ed. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, 218-32.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

“Evolution in the Biographical Profiles of Two Hadith Transmitters.”  In The Shi‘ite Heritage, ed. Lynda Clarke, 285-99.  Binghamton, NY: Global Press, 2001.

“Shi‘i Institutes in North America.” In Ahlul Bayt Assembly of America: Abstract of       Proceedings Convention of 1996, ed. Sayyed M. Hejazi & A. Hashim, 103-09.       Beltsville, MD: International Graphics, 1997.

Articles in Encyclopedias:

Encyclopedia Iranica S.v. " Kashshi, Abu Amr Mohammad", forthcoming in 2010

Encyclopedia for Sciences and Religions ed. Nina Azari. Online access, 2011S.v. "Islamic Studies"

Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History ed. I Curtis. Facts on File, 2010S.v. “Shi‘a American Muslims” 

Oxford Bibliographies Online ed. Tamara Sonn. Oxford University Press, 2009S.v. “Ali ibn Abi Talib.”

World Book Encyclopedia ed. Dawn Krajcik. 2009

S.v.

“Ashura.”

“Agha Khan.”

“Jinns.”

Encyclopedia of Islam in America, ed. Jocelyne Cesari. Greenwood Press, 2007.

 S. v.

“Shi‘a Communities.”

“Khomeini, Ayatollah.”

“Seestani, Ayatollah.”

Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, ed. Suad Joseph.  Koninklijke:  Brill, 2004.

S.v.

“Women, Gender and Islamic Law,”

“Women, Gender and Islamic Law – Additional Schools.”

Encyclopedia of Holy People, ed. Phyllis Jestice.  Santa Barbara, CA:  ABC-CLIO, 2004. 

S.v.

“Ali b. Husayn Zayn al-‘Abidin,”

 “Hasan b. ‘Ali,”

 “Husayn b. ‘Ali,”

 “Ja‘far al-Sadiq.”

Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, ed. Jane D. McAuliffe. Leiden:  Brill, 2004.

 S.v.

“Samson”

“Saul.”

Encyclopedia of Religion and War, ed. Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez.  New York:  Routledge, 2004. 

S.v.

“Islam - Shi‘a.”

Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expression, ed. Gary Laderman and Luis Léon.  Santa Barbara, CA:  ABC-CLIO, 2003.  S.v. “Shi‘ite Movements.”

The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, ed. John Esposito. New York:  Oxford University, 2003.  S.v. “Banu al-Nadir,” “Banu Isra‘il,” “Banu Qurayza,” “Quraysh,” “Qusayy,” “Sujud,” “Tashahhud,” “Thamud,” “Wajib.”

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Modern World, ed. Richard C. Martin.  New York:  Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 

S.v.

“An-Nafs al-Zakiyya”

“Ja‘far al-Sadiq.”

Book Reviews:

Review of Scripturalist Islam: The History and Doctrines of the Akhbari Shi'i School, by Robert Gleave. Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies (2010).

Review of British Muslim Converts : Choosing Alternative Lives, by  Kate Zebiri. Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies, 2, no.3 (2009)

Review of Reliving Karbala, by Syed Hyder. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 26, no. 3 (2009)

Review of The Shi‘is of Iraq, by Yitzhak Nakash. The Muslim World, 97, no. 3 (2007)

Review of The Twelver Shi‘a as a Muslim Minority in India: Pulpit of Tears, by Toby Howarth. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 70. no. 2 (2007).

Review of Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices, by S. A. Nigosian. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74, no. 2 (2006).

Review of The Crisis of Muslim History, by Mahmoud Ayoub.  Journal of the American Academy of Religion 73, no. 3 (2005).

Review of Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, by Andrew Rippin.  Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 2, no. 3 (2001). http://www.jcrt.org/archives/02.3/index.html?page=takim.shtml

CURRENT RESEARCH

Translation of Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, Allama Tabataba’i’s voluminous exegesis of the Qur’an (volume 4)

CONFERENCE PAPERS

2009:  "A Minority with Diversity: The Shi‘i Experience in America" Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University

2008: “Islam in the American University” Project on “Religion in the Academy” (RITA) Sponsored by the Lilly Foundation, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago

2008: “Revival of Religious Thought: The Re-evaluation of Classical Texts by Contemporary Shi‘i Jurists” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago

2008: “Teaching Islam in a post 9/11 world” Symposium on Religion on the Secular University Campus, University of Denver

2008: “Musa al-Sadr and the Impact of Modernity on Shi‘i Jurisprudence” Conference on: “The Shia, Modernity, and the Legacy of Musa al-Sadr.” University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

2008: “Reformation or Reinterpretation: Islamic Law in America” AAR Great Plains Region Conference, Denver

2008: “From Conflict to Co-existence: The Application of Islamic Law in a Minority Context” Symposium at Carthage College

2007: “Preserving or Extending Boundaries: The Black Shi‘is of America” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, San Diego

2007:  “Islamic Fundamentalism in America” Institute of Oriental Studies, Azerbaijan

2007: “Muslim Women in America” Islamic University, Baku, Azerbaijan

2007: “Muslim Life in America” American Studies Center of the Foreign Languages University, Baku, Azerbaijan

2007: “Institutionalization and the Politicization of American Islam,” Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan

2007: “Interpretation of Islamic Sacred Texts in the American Diaspora,” Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan

2007: “A Minority within a Minority: The Black Shi‘is of America” Breaking Apart the Monolith: The Many Ways of Being Muslim - A Conference Exploring the Dynamics of Muslim Identity in Today’s World held at Princeton University

2007: “ Revival of Religious Thought: Ijtihad and the Re-evaluation of Classical Texts in Modern Times” American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies

2006:  “Gender and Islamic Civilization: The Contribution of Muslim Women to Islamic Sciences and Civilization” University of Isfahan, Tehran

2006:  “The Religious Other in America: The Deterritorialization and Deculturation of American Muslims,” Symposium held at Colorado College, Colorado Springs

2006   “The Danish Cartoons in Islamic Hadith Literature.” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Washington

2006   “Closing the Interpretive Process: Toward a New Qur’anic Hermeneutic.” University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2006   “Women in the three Monotheistic Traditions and in Islamic Law,” Conference held in Tehran, Iran

2006   “Conversion and Proselytizing: Balancing Religious Freedom and Respect.”   Symposium, University of Denver

2006   “Islam, the West and the Cartoon Controversy: Religious Sensitivities vs. Secular Liberties.” Symposium, University of Denver

2006   “The Ten Commandments in Islamic Exegetical Literature: A Comparative Perspective.” Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at UW-Madison

2006   “The Indigenization of American Islam: Muslims in the American Diaspora.” USNorthcom Academic Conference

2005  “The Politicization of American Islam.” Politics and Religion in France and the United States, International Conference, Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies in association with the Department of Religion, Florida State University

2005 “American Muslims or Muslims in America: Muslims as the ‘Other’.” Eighth Annual Honors Conference, Metro State College, Denver

2005 “The Power of Islamic Sacred Texts Today.” Religious Leadership Conference, Iliff School of Theology, Denver

2004 “Discovering the Hidden Treasure: Creation in the Islamic Tradition.” Third Furlong Memorial Lecture, “Creation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” symposium, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Canada

2004 “Human Rights in the Qur’an and Shari‘a: A Comparative Perspective.” University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2004 “Muslim Youth at the Crossroads: Advancing into the Twenty-First Century.”  Islamic Social Services Association Conference, Toronto, Canada

2004 “Revival of Religious Thought: The Thoughts and Contribution of Ayatullah Mutahhari.”  International Conference, Tehran, Iran

2004 “The Mental Jihad: Reason and Revelation in the Islamic Tradition.”  Seminar held at the Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO

2004  “Holy Peace in the Islamic Tradition.” Columbia University, NY

2003  “Muslim-Christian Dialogue: Past, Present and Future.”  Macdonald Center Lecturers in Christian-Muslim Understanding, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

2003 “Challenging the Authority of Tradition and Texts: Ijtihad and Taqlid in Modern Times.”  American Academy of Religion regional meeting, Boulder, CO

2002  “Biography as Literary Genre: The Struggle for Authority in Shi‘i Rijal Texts.” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Toronto, Canada

2002 “Re-evaluation of the Shari‘a Post-September 11: Islam and Modernity.”  Furlong Memorial Lecture, “Understanding Islam” symposium, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Canada

2002 “Violence and Healing: Facing the Ongoing Challenges of September 11.”  Colloquium held at the Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO

2002 “Aging in the Islamic Tradition.” The National Council on the Aging, Denver, CO

2001  “Islam in America after September 11.” Kanuga Conference on Christian-Muslim Understanding, Ashville, NC

2001  “Islam in the Context of American Religious Diversity.” Res Publica Conference, Aspen, CO

2000 “Promise & Peril: Religion at the Millenium.” Conference on The Many Faces of God, New Hampshire Humanities Council, Manchester, NH

2000 “Preserving or Extending Religious Boundaries? Muslim Proselytization in America.” Islamic Education Council, Washington, D.C.

1998  “Acculturation and Assimilation – Muslims in the Diaspora.” Colloquium held at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

1998 “Religious Pluralism and Human Rights: An Islamic Perspective.” Grinnell College, Iowa

1997 “Acculturation and Assimilation – Muslims in the West,” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco

1997 “Contemporary Muslim Polemics.” MESA Conference, San Francisco

1997 “Exclusivism or Inclusivism? Salvation History in the Qur’an.” Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA

1997 “External Influences on American Muslims.” Presented at a conference on Jews and Muslims in the American context, The Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

1996  “From Bid‘a to Sunna: The Case of the Wilaya of ‘Ali in the Shi‘i adhan.” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, New Orleans, LA

1995 “The Origins of Islamic Biographical Literature” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Philadelphia, PA

1994 “Religious Pluralism in the Qur’an.” Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada

1994 “The Case of the Holy Disciples. Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago

1993  “Authority and the Struggle for Legitimacy.” University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

1993 “The Ethics of Self Realization: an Islamic Perspective.” Institute of Global Cultural Studies, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY

1990 “The Origins and Development of Imami Biographical Texts.” School of Oriental & African Studies, London

PUBLIC LECTURES

2008: "Reformation or Transformation: Islamic Law in Transition" Shi'a Ithna'aseri Community of Middlesex, London, England

2008 “Teaching Islam in a Post-9/11 World” Muslim Student Association, University of Colorado

2008 “From Majority to Minority: The Jurisprudence of Muslim Minority Communities” Islamic Center, Los Angeles

2007 “The Islamization of American Immigrant Islam” Muslim Student Association, University of Denver

2007 “History and Narratives in Qur’anic Exegesis” Islamic Center, Nairobi, Kenya

2006 “Reformation in Islamic Jurisprudence: The Question of Punishment in Islamic Law,” Universal Muslim Association of America, Virginia

2005  “From Muslims in America to American Muslims.”  Universal Muslim Association of America, Washington, D.C.

2005 “Is Islam Synonymous with Terrorism?” The City Club, Denver

2005 “Progressive Muslims in the American Milieu.” Bates College, Maine

2004  “The Cool Dudes: Muslim Youth in Transition.”  Universal Muslim Association of America, Washington, D.C.

2004  “Reflecting Black: Islam in Africa and Antebellum America.”  University of Toronto, Canada

2004  “The Shi‘i Vision: Reason and Reformation in Shi‘ism.”  University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, Canada

2004  “Faith and Belief: An Islamic Perspective.”  Ja‘faria Islamic Center, Burtonsville, MD

2003  “Re-evaluation of Islamic Law post September 11: Islam and Modernity.”  Faculty Luncheon, University of Denver, Denver, CO

2003  “From 911 to 711: The Islamic Experience in the West.”  Orientation Lecture, University of Denver, Denver, CO

2003  “Unity or Uniformity: Islam and the Question of Reformation.”  al-Iman Islamic Center, Seattle, WA

2002  “A Minority within a Minority: The Muslim Youth Culture in Contemporary America.”  Ja‘fariya Islamic Center, Burtonsville, MD

2000  “Integration, Isolation, or Insulation? The Muslims of America.”  University of Miami, Miami, FL

2000  “A Viable Qur’anic Hermeneutic for Muslims in the New Millennium.”  Auckland, New Zealand

1999  “Qur’anic Exegesis and Women’s Right to Divorce.”  Islamic House of Wisdom, Detroit, MI

1997  “The Muslims as the ‘Other’ in North America.”  Conference on Muslims in America, Ja‘fariya Islamic Center, Burtonsville, MD

1997  “Drawing Boundaries in America: The Muslim Identity.”  Islamic Society of North America, Indianapolis, IN

1996  “Ethno-cultural Identity: Muslim Institutes in America.”  Islamic Center, Washington, D.C.

1993  “Child Custody and Family Support: A Re-evaluation of Traditional Islamic Sources.”  Conference held by the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Toronto, Canada

AWARDS AND GRANTS

2007   CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for “The Heirs of the Prophet:Charisma and Religious Authority in Shi‘ite Islam”

2006    Professional Research Opportunity for Faculty (PROF) grant

2006    Internationalization Small Grants, University of Denver

2005     Research Grant, Denver Foundation

2004    Internationalization Small Grants, University of Denver

2003    Faculty Research Fund, University of Denver

1990  Central Research Fund and Scholarships Committee, School of Oriental & African Studies

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/HONORS

The Center for Global Understanding - Board Member

American Academy of Religion

Theta Alpha Kappa (National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology)

Editorial Board

Shi'a Affairs Journal: International Dialogue Series

The Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies

LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE

Native Speaker: English, Swahili and Gujarati

Classical Languages: Arabic, Urdu and Persian

UNIVERSITY SERVICE

Elected Faculty Committee (Advisory Board to the Dean)

Supervised thesis of several graduate students

Professional Research Opportunity for Faculty (PROF) Grant Committee

Member of pre-Tenure committee - Religious Studies - 2008-9

Member of Search Committee, lecturer in Arabic 2008-9

Tenure and Promotion Committee, University of Denver 2006 - 2009

Director of Master’s Program in the Department of Religious Studies, 2004 - 2006

Committee member for the DU/Iliff Joint Ph.D Program, Autumn 2004 - 2006

Member of five Ph.D. dissertation committees for the DU/Iliff Joint Ph.D. Program, Spring 2004 - present

Committee member, “Bridges to the Future —The American Dream Revisited” 2002-2005

Member of search committee for position in Judaic/Religious Studies Program, Fall/Winter 2004-05

EXTERNAL EXAMINER:

Wendy Jane Isaaac-Martin, “A Violent Origin: A Girardian Analysis of the Scapegoating of Ali ibn Abu Talib in Shi’ite Tradiiton, (Ph. D Thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008)

Linda Darwish “Texts of Tension, Spaces of Empowerment: Migrant Muslims and the Limits of Shi’ite Legal Discourse” (Ph. D Thesis, Concordia University, 2009)

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Member of Human Services Committee of the Denver Foundation 2003 - 2007

Member of Denver’s Faith Community Initiative to End Homelessness (Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Faith Based Initiative) 2005 - present

Member of the Advisory Board of The Muslim Observer (weekly newspaper published in Detroit) 1997 - present

Chairman of the Islamic Education Board of North America 1996 - 2004

Member of Council of ‘Ulama (Muslim Scholars) of North America 1997 - present

Advisor to the Imams’ Council of Toronto 1994 - 2004