Abdulaziz Sachedina

Abdulaziz Sachedina, Ph.D., is Professor and IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.  Dr. Sachedina, who has studied in India, Iraq, Iran, and Canada, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.

He has been conducting research and writing in the field of Islamic Law, Ethics, and Theology (Sunni and Shiite) for more than two decades.  In the last ten years he has concentrated on social and political ethics, including Interfaith and Intrafaith Relations, Islamic Biomedical Ethics and Islam and Human Rights.  Dr. Sachedina’s publications include: Islamic Messianism (State University of New York, 1980); Human Rights and the Conflicts of Culture, co-authored (University of South Carolina, 1988) The Just Ruler in Shiite Islam (Oxford University Press, 1988); The Prolegomena to the Qur’an (Oxford University Press, 1998), The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism (Oxford University Press, 2002), Islamic Biomedical Ethics: Theory and Application (Oxford University Press, February 2009),  Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, September 2009), in addition to numerous articles in academic journals.   He is an American citizen born in Tanzania.

Research Interests

Research areas: Middle East, East Africa, and South Asia in Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Urdu-Hindi. Research interests: Religious Fundmentalism, War and Peace, Political Ethics, and Interfaith Relations in Islam. Research in progress: Islamic Biomedical Ethics and Medical Jurisprudence; Comparative Legal Theory in Sunni-Shii Jurisprudence; Theology of Christian-Muslim and Jewish-Muslim Relations.)

Education

• Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 1966
• Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 1971
• Master of Arts (MA), University of Toronto, 1972
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Toronto, 1976

Courses

Fall 2004

• RELI 207 Classical Islam
• RELI 540  Islamic Theology
• RELI 804  Readings in Arabic Texts
• RELI 541 Islamic Theology: The Shi’ite Creed

Spring 2004

• RELI 312 Islamic Mysticism
• RELI 208  Islam in the Modern Age

Fall 2003

• RELI 207 Classical Islam
• RELI 710 Islamic Law and Ethics

Summer 2003

• RELI 207 Classical Islam

Spring 2003

• RELI 312 Islamic Mysticism
• RELI 208 Islam in the Modern Age

Fall 2002

• RELI 207 Classical Islam,
• RELI 540 Islamic Theolgoy and Ethics

Language

• Gujarati: Native language
• Speaking, reading and writing ability in: Swahili, Arabic, Persian, Urdu , Hindi, and English
• French: Reading and writing knowledge
• German:Some working knowledge
• Modern Turkish: working knowledge

Teaching Positions

• 9/68 to 6/71 English Language Instructor, Jorjani Nursing School, Mashhad, Iran
• 9/71 to 6/72 Research Assistant, Department of Middle East & Islamic Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
• 9/75 to 12/75 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario, Canada
• 9/75 to 5/76 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
• 9/76 to 5/77 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
• 9/77 to 5/78 Assistant Professor, Department of History/Department of French and General Linguistics (joint appointment), University of Virginia
• 9/78 – 8/82 Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies/Oriental Languages, (joint appointment), University of Virginia
• 9/82 – Tenured Associate Professor
• 1/86 to 6/86 Visiting Professor, Faculty of Shari`a, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
• 9/87 to 6/88 Margaret Gest Visiting Professor of Religion, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania
• 9/88 Promoted – Professor
• 1989 Offered – King Faisal Chair of Islamic and Arabic Studies, USC (Declined)
• 9/90 to 6/91 Visiting Scholar, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
• 1/93 to 5/93 Visiting Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal

Books

• Islamic Messianism: The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver Shi’ism (State University of New York, Albany, 1980).
• Human Rights and the Conflict of Cultures: Western and Islamic Perspectives on Religious Religion Liberty, Coauthored with D. Little and J. E. Kelsay (Columbia: U.of South Carolina Press,1988)
• The Just Ruler in Twelver Shi’ism: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1988) (Indonesian Translation, 1994)
• The Prolegomena to the Qur’an, being annotated trans. of al Bayan fi tafsir al qur’an by Abu al Qasim al Khui’ (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998)
• Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism ( New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) (Persian Translation, 2004)
• Islamic Biomedical Ethics (2009)

Scholarly Papers And Presentations At Various National And International Academic Institutions And Conferences:

• 3/81 “Religion and Politics in Islam.” Sponsored by the Department of Religion Amherst College , Amherst , Massachusetts .
• 4/81 “Islam in World Politics.” Sponsored by the Department of Political Science/Religion/Anthropology, Miami University , Oxford , Ohio.

(Numerous other scholarly presentations not listed)

• 10/89 “Shi`ite Activism in Iran , Iraq and Lebanon .” Fundamentalism Project, Divinity School , University of Chicago
• 11/90 “Can Islamic Legal Theory become the source of Conflict Resolution Today?” Cairo University/Dar alIfta’, Cairo
• 4/91 “A Search for Methodology in Islamic Studies.” Institute of Islamic Thought, Amman , Jordan
• 11/91 “Islam and Muslims in Diaspora.” Berlin Institute of Social Sciences, Berlin
• 10/92 “A Case for Islamic Medical Ethics.” History of Islamic Medicine Congress, University of Tehran , Iran
• 11/92 “Quietism and Pacificism in Islam.” Center for Interreligious Dialogue, Washington University , St. Louis
• 2/93 “Religious Pluralism in Islamic Revelation.” MIT, Boston .
• 7/93 “Western-Islamic Medical Ethics in the Technical Age: A Comparative Perspective.” International Congress of Medical Ethics, Tehran , Iran
• 10/93 “Moral Restrictions on Violence: Ethics of War in Islam.” Guggenheim Foundation Conference on “War and Peace in Abrahamic Traditions.” Toledo , Spain
• 11/93 “Woman, half-the-man? Crisis of Male Epistemology in Islamic Jurisprudence.” Schell Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School
• 3/95 “Theology of International Politics.” Graduate School International Studies, University of Miami , Miami , Florida
• 6/95 “Islamic Theology for Interfaith Relations in 21st Century: Where shall We Begin?” Muslim-Christian Relations: Prospects in the Twenty First Century. Georgetown University .
• 4/95 “Some Contemporary Programs in Islamic Studies.” Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America , Fairfax , VA
• 4/95 “The Influence of Religion on American Society Today.” The Forum for Political Thought, State University of New York at Albany .
• 5/95 “Right to Die? Muslim Views About End of Life Decisions.” St. Francis Medical Center & Duquesne University Annual Conference on Medical Ethics & Religion at Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania .
• 8/95 “Political Implications of Supersessionist Theology in Islam.” Royal Institute for Inter-faith Studies, Amman , Jordan .
• 8/95 “Justifications for Violence in Islam.” Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Violence. Tantur Ecumenical Center . Jerusalem .
• 9/96 “Can God Inflict Unrequited Pain on His Creatures? Muslim Perspectives on Health and Suffering.” Conference on Religion, Health and Suffering. The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine and SOAS, University of London .
• 10/96 “Problems in Defining Brain Death in Islamic Jurisprudence.” International Association of Bioethics, San Francisco.
• 3/97 “Islamic Perspectives on Human Cloning.” Testimony before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC), Washington , DC
• 6/97 “Ethics and Theology: A Continuation of the National Discussion on Human Cloning.” Testimony before the U. S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Washington , DC
• 8/97 “Ethics of Human Cloning in Islam.” Medical Forum, the Stellenbosch University Medical School , Tygerberg , South Africa .
• 8/97 “Defining the Brain Death Criteria for Organ Donation.” Islamic Medical Association, Western Cape University , South Africa .
• 8/97 “Islamic Theology for 21st Century: Non-Muslim Minorities and Islamic State.” Human Sciences Research Council, University of Cape Town , SA.
• 9/98 “Civil Society and Dialogue of Civilization,” Imam Khomeini Institute of Education and Research, Qumm , Iran . “Religious Pluralism: A Challenge to Monopoly over Salvation.” Institute for Political and International Studies, Tehran , Iran .

(After 1998 only some listed)

• 3/01 “Genetic Determinism: An Islamic Perspective.” The Cancer Family: At the Intersection of Science and Society Conference, UVA
• 4/01 “History and Faith: The Ethical Dimensions of Martyrdom in Islam.” Lecture series sponsored by the Organization for Islamic Learning, Toronto , Canada
• 4/01 “Genetic Interventions, as they Impact on Human Relationships.” Harvard Caucus, Harvard Medical School
• 4/01 “From Defensive to Offensive Warfare: The Use and Abuse of Jihad in Muslim World.” Program on Religion and Conflict Resolution, Tanenbaum Center Conference, Princeton
• 4/01 “Teaching Islam and Middle East to High School Students.” Teaching World Religions, Foreign Policy Research Institute History Institute for Teachers, Philadelphia .
• 5/01 “Islamic Perspectives on Human Cloning.” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Washington , DC
• 6/01 “Religion and Medicine in Modern Society: Islamic Perspectives on Health Care.” The Saint Vincents Comprehensive Cancer Center, Manhattan , NY
• 8/01 “Holy Lives: Saints in World Religions.” Series of lectures at The Elijah School for the Study of Wisdom in World Religions, UNESCO, Jerusalem
• 10/01 “Can there be religious sources for Human Rights?” Seminar at Hebrew College , Boston
• 10/01 “The “Other” in Islamic Tradition.” Public Lecture at Hebrew College , Boston
• 10/01 “Genetics in the Context of Divine Purposes: Islamic Guidelines for a Multi-faith Society.” Governor’s Conference on Human Genomics, Washington , DC
• 10/01 “Religion and Dialogue Among Civilizations: Governance or Guidance?” State University of New York , Binghamton
• 10/01 “Militancy, Peace, and Islam.” Kenyon College , Kenyon , Ohio
• 11/01 “Religion and Globalization: An Islamic Response.” Center on Religion and Democracy Conference
• 11/01 “Theology of Militancy in the Light of September 11 Tragedy.” Vanderbilt University , Nashville , TN
• 11/01 “The Qur’anic Jihad and the Jihad of Osama bin Laden.” Rollins College , Orlando , FL
• 12/01 “Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy: Judaism, Western and Eastern Christianity and Islam.” Workshop Bosnia Forum International, Sarajevo
• 03/02 “Militancy, Peace, and Islam.”
• 03/02 “The Children of Abraham: In Conflict and in Peace.”
• 03/02 “Restorative Justice: A Missing Dimension in Human Relations.” (Three lectures in Hiram College Lectures in Religion, Hiram , OH )
• 10/02 “Serving Muslim Patients: Preparing for Cultural and Religious Sensitivities.” Conference with Internal Medicine residents, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
• 10/02 “Religion and Medicine: Muslim Insight on Wellness and Health Care.” Public Lecture, Chiles Center , University of Portland
• 10/02 “Muslim Clinical Ethics.” Open Forum, Providence Portland Medical Center , Ethics Committee
• 10/02 “Understanding Human Suffering: Death and Dying in Islam.” Open Forum, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
• 10/02 “Islamic Directives on Patient Care.” Medical Grand Rounds, Providence Portland Medical Center
• 10/02 “A Search for Common Ground in a Multifaith Society.” Providence Center for Health Care Ethics (Visiting Scholar at Providence Center for Health Care Ethics, Portland , OR )
• 01/03 “Reconstructing Afghanistan : Freedom in Crisis.” U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom George Washington University Law School , Washington , DC
• 02/03 “Understanding Islam in Post-9/11.” International Focus: The Middle East , Colorado State University , Fort Collins
• 03/03 “Ethics of Genetic Engineering.” COMSTECH, American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon
• 03/03 “Genes: Who Owns Them?” COMSTECH, American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon
• 04/03 “Building Bridges of Understanding: Religious Pluralism and Islam.” Hollins University , Roanoke , VA.
• 04/03 “Iraqi Women and Their Rights in the Post-Saddam Iraq .” Women Waging Peace Conference, Washington , DC
• 04/03 “Christians and Muslims Together Creating a Culture of Peace.” The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas of Rome , Italy
• 05/03 “Humanitarian Aid in Iraq .” The Defense Department, Pentagon Conference and Consultation, Washington , DC
• 05/03 “Imagining Unity: Muslim Cultural Diversity in North America .” University of Virginia Outreach Program, Jefferson Theatre
• 05/03 “Why Democracy? Why now?” Keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Conference
• Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Washington , DC
• 05/03 “Islamic Governance in Iraq : Current Reality and Future Expectations.” Rejecting Violence and Promoting Peace with Justice, International Multireligious Summit World Conference on Religion and Peace, Amman , Jordan .
• 06/03 “Ministering to Those in Need: The Rights and Wrongs of Missions and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq .” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Washington , DC .
• 09/03 “Terrorism: Why are we killing one another?” 9/11 memorial lecture organized by Muslim Students Association and Arab Students Organization. UVa.
• 09/03 “Islam and Democracy: Are they compatible?” Emory and Henry Annual Lecture on Religion and Public Life.
• 09/03 “Islamic Business Ethics.” Darden Business School , UVa.
• 09/03 “Public Role of Religion: Guidance or Governance?” United Nations, Special Event, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Ministers, New York .
• 10/03 “Dissension and Dialogue: American Muslim Community in the aftermath of 9/11.” Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington D.C.
• 10/03 “Human Vicegerency: A Blessing or a Curse? The Challenge to be God’s Caliph in the Qur’an.” Humanity Before God Conference, University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, IL.
• 11/03 “Civil Society in Muslim Societies: The Contribution of Women.” Women Waging Peace Policy Day, Cambridge , MA
• 12/03 “Cultural and Religious in Islamic Biomedicine: The Case of Human Cloning.” International Symposium, Cross-Cultural Issues in Bioethics, Ruhr Unisersitat, Bochum , Germany
• 12/03 “The Hermeneutics of the Qur’an.” Scriptural Studies Group, Paris , France .
• 12/03 “Religion in the Public Square : Islam and Democracy.” International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, Leiden University , Leiden , Holland .
• 12/03 “Islamic Perspectives on Cancer Genetics and Gene Therapy.” EMBL Forum on Science and Society, Heidelberg , Germany .
• 12/03 “The Role of Islam in Modern Nation State: Governance or Guidance?” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tehran , Iran

Articles and Book Chapters

• ” Tanzania: A historical sketch of the oriental influences.” (in Persian) Majallah-yi Yaghma ( Tehran, Iran), 1970, Pp. 23-38.
• “Shi’ism and the Persians.” (in Persian) Faculty of Theology Publication, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran, 1974, Pp.112-123.
• Abu’l Kattab al-Asadi. Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 3, p. 329-30.
• “A Treatise on the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam.” Studia Islamica, 48 (1978), p. 109-124.
• “Al-khums: the Fifth in the Imamite Legal System.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 39 (1980), p. 275-289.
• “Ali Shariati: The Ideologue of Iranian Revolution.” The Voices of Resurgent Islam, ed. John L. Esposito ( Oxford, 1983). Pp. 191-214.
• “The Significance of al-Kashshi’s Rijal in understanding of the early role of the Shi’i Fuqaha’.” Logos Islamikos: Studia Islamica in honorem George Michael Wickens, ed. Roger Savory and Dionisius Agius ( Toronto,1984). Pp. 183-206.
• “The Creation of Just Social Order in Islam.” State Politics and Islam (American Trust Publication, 1986). Pp. 115-131.
• “Jews, Christians, and Muslims According to the Qur’an.” The Greek Orthodox Theological Review, Vol. 31, No. 1-2 (1986), pp. 105-120.
• “The Eternal Meaning of the Imam Husayn’s Martyrdom.” Alserat, Vol. XII (1986: London), Pp. 195-206.
• “The Ideal and Real in Islamic Law.” Perspectives on Islamic Law, Justice and Society: Anthropology of Culture, ed. R. S. Khare (1987), Pp. 24-42.
• “Islamic Views on Organ Transplantation.” Transplantation Proceedings, Vol.XX, No 1, Suppl. 1 (February), 1988. Pp. 1084-85.
• “Unity Through Diversity: The Shar`i Vision.” The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1988, pp. 59-75.
• “Early Muslim Traditionists and Their Familiarity with Jewish Sources.” Studies in Islamic and Judaic Traditions II, ed. William M. Brinner and Stephen D. Ricks (Scholars Press, Atlanta, Georgia, 1989). Pp. 49-59.
• “Who are Shi’ite Muslims?” World Paper, Boston, Mass., March, 1988.
• “Context for the Ayatollah’s decree: The religious and political in Islam,” Baltimore Sun ( 26 Feb. 1989). The Rushdie File, ed. Lisa Appignanesi and Sara Maitland (Syracuse University Press, 1990), pp. 222-25.
• “Wilaya of Imam `Ali and its Theological-Juridical Implications for the Islamic Political Thought.” Imam `Ali Festival: Fourteen Centenary of alGhadeer, Vol. I, pp. 47-84 ( London, 1990)
• “The Development of Jihad in Islamic Revelation and History.” Cross, Crescent and Sword: The Justification of War in Western and Islamic Traditions, ed. J. T. Johnson and J. Kelsay (Greenwood Press, 1990), pp. 35-51.
• “Activist Shi`ism in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.” Fundamentalisms Observed (University of Chicago, 1991). Pp. 403-456.
• “The Shi`ite Concept of the `Authority of the Jurist’: In Theory and in Practice.” Bulletin of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, International U of Japan, Vol. VI (1992). Pp. 287-328.
• “Islam and Muslims in Diaspora.” Bulletin of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, International University of Japan, Vol. VII (1993), Pp. 109-46.
• “Is Islamic Revelation an Abrogation of Judeo Christian Revelation?” CONCILIUM International Review of Theology, 1994.
• “Is there a Tradition of Nonviolence and Pacifism in Islam?” Nonviolence and Pacifism in Conflict Resolution. United States Institute of Peace Project. 1994.
• “Justifications of Violence in Islamic Tradition.” War and Its Discontents: Pacifism and Quietism in the Abrahamic Traditions (Georgetown University Press, 1996).
• “Political Implications of the Islamic Notion of `Supersession’ as Reflected in Islamic Jurisprudence.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996.
• “Law, Society, and Governance in Islam.” The Muslim Almanac. Ed. Azim Nanji. Gale Research Inc., 1996.
• “Islamic Theology of Christian Muslim Relations.” Islam and Christia-Muslim Relations, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1997.
• “Human Clones: An Islamic View.” The Human Cloning Debate, ed. Glenn McGee (Berkeley Hills Books, 1998).
• “Can God Inflict Unrequited Pain on His Creatures? Muslim Perspecteives on Health and Suffering.” Religion, Health and Suffering, ed. John R. Hinnells and Roy Porter (London: Kegan Paul International, 1999)
• “Guidance or Governance? A Muslim Conception of “Two Cities.” The George Washington Law Review, Volume 68, Number 5/6, July September 2000
• “The Issue of Riba (Interest taking or charging) in Islamic Faith and Law.” Spiritual Goods: Religious Traditions and the Practice of Business. ( Philosophy Documentation Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio 2000)
• “Civic Responsibility in Political Society: An Islamic Paradigm.” Taking Responsibility, ed. Winston Davis ( University of Virginia Press, 2001)
• “From Defensive to Offensive Warfare: The Use and Abuse of Jihad in the Muslim World.” Religion, Law and the Role of Force ( New York: Transnational Publishers, 2002).
• “When Faith Confronts the Law: A Muslim Perspective.” Human Genomics, the Family, and the Law (October 2002)
• “Human Cloning: An Affront to the Divine Will?” Christian Networks Journal (Summer, 2002)
• “Political Islam and the Hegemony of Globalization: A Response to Peter Burger.” The Hedgehog Review (Summer, 2002)
• “Vodenje ili vladanje? Muslimanska Zamisao o “Dva Grada.” Religija I javni zivot, Forum Bosnia, 19/02, Sarajevo, Hercigovena, pp. 122 47.
• “Globalization, Religion, and Women.” Critical Half: Annual Journal of Women for Women International, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 10 13
• “Ideology.” The Reader: A Journal of Iranian Culture, Issue 1, pp. 6 8.
• “Business Ethics in Islam.” Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics, 2nd Edition (Blackwell Publishing, 2003)
• “End of Life Decisions from an Islamic Perspective.” LANCET (forthcoming, 2004).

Book Reviews: (Only few listed)

• Religion and Politics in Contemporary Iran: Clergy-State Relations in the Pahlavi Period. By Sharhrough Akhavi (SUNY, 1980) in Journal of Church and State, Winter 1981, p. 133135.
• Traditional Islam in the Modern World. By S. H. Nasr (London, KPI Ltd, 1987) in Muslim World, 1988.
• Islam and Human Rights: Tradition and Politics. By Ann Elizabeth Mayer (Westview, 1991) in Journal of Church and State, Fall (1992)
• Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights and International Law ( Syracuse, 1990) in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Spring, 1993
• The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions (University Park: Penn State University Press, 1997) in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Fall, 1998.
• Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam (Oxford University Press, 1999), in Journal of Religion, Winter 2001.
• Knowing by Oneself, Knowing with the Other, in Journal of Islam and Christian Muslim Relations, Fall, 2003

Honors

• 9/67 to 8/71 Government of Iran Cultural Scholarship
• 9/72 to 5/73 Province of Ontario Graduate Fellowship
• 9/73 to 5/75 University of Toronto Open Fellowship
• 9/73 to 8/74 Ferdowsi University Research Fellowship
• 6/78 to 8/78 University of Virginia Summer Research Grant
• 12/78 to 1/79 Muhammedi Trust Research Fellowship for Research in Iran
• 6/80 to 8/80 University of Virginia Summer Research Grant
• 6/81 to 8/81 University of Virginia Summer Research Grant
• 12/82 to 6/83 Research AssignmentResearch in Iran
• 6/83 to 8/83 University of Virginia Summer Research Grant
• 1/86 to 8/86 Sesquicentennial Fellowship for research in Amman, Jordan
• 9/90 to 8/91 Research Assignment-Research in Jordan/Iran
• 6/93 to 8/93 University of Virginia Summer Research Grant
• 1994 — 95 Z Society Award for Outstanding Professor
• 1/96 to 6/96 Sesquicentennial Fellowship for research in UK
• 9/97 to 8/98 University Seminar Course Development Fellowship
• 1/98 to 8/98 Project of Preventive Diplomacy, CSIS
• 1/99 to 12/99 Teaching Technology Initiative Fellowship
• 1/02 to 8/02 Sesquicentennial Fellowship for research in Iran

Memberships and other Academic Services:

• Advisory Board, Center for Bioethics, UVa
• Advisory Board, COMSTECH, Organization of Islamic Conference,
• Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation
• Advisory Committee, Central Virginia Health Ministries Association
• Chair, Board of Directors, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy
• Committee on Middle East Studies Program/South Asia Studies
• Committee on Jewish Studies
• Interfaith Committee, Hospital Chaplaincy
• Steering Committee, Center on Religion and Democracy, UVa
• Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Advisory Council, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
• Advisory Board, Bioethics Committee, Aga Khan University, Karachi
• Editorial Board, Studies in Contemporary Islam
• Editorial Board, Journal of American Academy of Religion
• Editorial Board, Türkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Ethics
• Editorial Board, Islamic World: Past and Present, Oxford University Press
• Editorial Board, Journal of Theological Studies, Ferdowsi University, Iran
• Editorial Board, OUP – Islamic World
• Editorial Board, Journal of Religious Ethics
• Director, The Organization for Islamic Learning