ABDULAZIZ SACHEDINA
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL:
Business Address:
Department
of Religious Studies
112 Halsey
Hall
Tel: (434)
924‑6725
Fax: (434)
924-1467
E-mail:
aas@virginia.edu
Home Address:
Tel. (434)
295-7655
EDUCATION:
7/63 to 5/66 ‑ B.A. General.
9/67 to 6/71 ‑
Islamic
jurisprudence (fiqh & usul) at the seminaries in Mashhad and
9/71 to 6/72 ‑ M.A.
9/72 to 6/76 ‑ Ph.D.
Dissertation: "The Doctrine of Mahdiism in Imami
Shi‘ism:
A study of
doctrinal evolution in the 9th and 10th centuries"
LANGUAGES:
Swahili ‑ Speaking, reading and writing ability
Arabic ‑
" " " "
Persian ‑
" " " "
Urdu ‑
" " " "
Hindi ‑
" " " "
Gujarati - “
“ “
“
English ‑
" " "
"
French ‑
German ‑ some working knowledge
Modern Turkish ‑ working
knowledge
TEACHING
POSITIONS:
9/68 to 6/71 ‑ English Language Instructor,
9/71 to 6/72 ‑ Research Assistant, Department of Middle East &
Islamic Studies,
9/75 to 12/75 ‑ Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies,
9/75 to 5/76 ‑ Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religion and Culture,
9/76 to 5/77 ‑ Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religious
Studies,
9/77 to 5/78 ‑ Assistant Professor, Department of History/Department of
French and General Linguistics (joint
appointment),
9/78 to 8/82 ‑ Assistant Professor, Department of Religious
Studies/Oriental Languages, (joint appointment),
9/82 ‑ Tenured ‑
Associate Professor
1/86 to 6/86 - Visiting Professor, Faculty of Shari`a, University of Jordan,
9/87 to 6/88 - Margaret Gest Visiting Professor of Religion,
9/88 ‑ Promoted‑ Professor
1989
- Offered - King Faisal
Chair of Islamic and Arabic Studies, USC (Declined)
9/90 to 6/91 - Visiting Scholar,
1/93 to 5/93 - Visiting Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies,
1/96 to 6/96 - Visiting Scholar,
1/02 to 8/02 - Visiting Professor, Faculty of Theology,
8/2005 - Appointed: Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religious
Studies
1/05 to 12/05 - Visiting Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Ferdowsi
1/07 to 06/07 -
Visiting Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Behishti Medical Sciences University, Tehran, Iran.
HONORS:
9/67 to 8/71 ‑
Government of
9/72 to 5/73 ‑
9/73 to 5/75 ‑
9/73 to 8/74 ‑
6/78 to 8/78 ‑
12/78 to 1/79 ‑ Muhammadi Trust Research Fellowship for Research in
6/80 to 8/80 ‑
6/81 to 8/81 ‑
12/82 to 6/83 ‑ Research Assignment‑Research in
6/83 to 8/83 ‑
1/86 to 8/86 ‑
Sesquicentennial Fellowship for research in
9/90 to 8/91 - Research Assignment-Research in Jordan/Iran
6/93 to 8/93 -
1994-95 - Z Society Award
for Outstanding Professor
1/96 to 6/96 - Sesquicentennial Fellowship for research in
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
1/05 to 12/05 - Research Leave
1/06 to 8/07 - Carnegie Corporation of
1/07 - - Distinguished Professor of Islamic Biomedical Ethics,
Behishti Medical
MEMBERSHIP
AND OTHER ACADEMIC SERVICES:
Committee on Middle East Studies
Program/South
Steering Committee, Center on
Religion and Democracy, UVa
Advisory Board, Center for
Bioethics, UVa
Advisory Board, COMSTECH,
Organization of Islamic Conference,
Standing Committee on
Scientific and Technological Cooperation
Advisory Council,
Editorial Board, Studies in Contemporary
Islam
Editorial Board, Journal of
Editorial Board, Turkiye Klinikleri
Journal of Medical Ethics
Editorial Board, Journal of
Theological Studies,
Editorial
Board, Journal of Religious Ethics
Editorial
Board,
Editorial
Board, Political Theology
Editorial
Board, Annual Review of Islam in
Editorial
Board, Iranian Journal of Biomedical Ethics
Editorial
Board, Iranian Journal of Ethics, Law, and Medicine
Director, Organization for Islamic
Learning
Member, Board of Directors, Center
for the Study of Islam and Democracy
AND
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND CONFERENCES:
3/81 "Religion and Politics in Islam." Sponsored by the
Department of Religion
4/81 "Islam in World Politics." Sponsored by the Department of Political
Science/ Religion/Anthropology,
(Numerous other
scholarly presentations not listed)
10/89 "Shi`ite Activism in
11/90 "Can Islamic Legal Theory become the source of Conflict
Resolution To‑day?"
Cairo University/Dar al‑Ifta',
4/91 "A
Search for Methodology in Islamic Studies." Institute of Islamic Thought,
11/91 "Islam and Muslims in Diaspora." Berlin Institute of Social Sciences,
10/92 "A Case for Islamic Medical Ethics." History of Islamic Medicine Congress,
11/92 "Quietism and Pacificism in Islam." Center for
Interreligious Dialogue,
2/93 "Religious
Pluralism in Islamic Revelation."
MIT,
7/93 "Western-Islamic
Medical Ethics in the Technical Age: A Comparative Perspective." International Congress of Medical Ethics,
10/93 "Moral
Restrictions on Violence: Ethics of War in Islam."
11/93 "Woman, half-the-man?
Crisis of Male Epistemology in Islamic Jurisprudence."
3/95 "Theology
of International Politics."
6/95 "Islamic
Theology for Interfaith Relations in 21st Century: Where shall We Begin?" Muslim-Christian Relations: Prospects in the
Twenty First Century.
4/95 "Some
Contemporary Programs in Islamic Studies." Institute of Islamic and Arabic
Sciences in
4/95 "The
Influence of Religion on American Society Today." The Forum for Political Thought,
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
8/95 "Political
Implications of Supersessionist Theology in Islam." Royal Institute for Inter-faith Studies,
8/95 "Justifications
for Violence in Islam."
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,
10/96 "Problems in Defining Brain Death in Islamic
Jurisprudence."
International
Association of Bioethics, San
3/97 "Islamic
Perspectives on Human Cloning."
Testimony before the National Bioethics
Advisory Commission (NBAC),
6/97 "Ethics
and Theology: A Continuation of the National Discussion on Human Cloning."
Testimony before the
Human Resources,
8/97 "Ethics
of Human Cloning in Islam." Medical Forum, the Stellenbosch
8/97 "Defining
the Brain Death Criteria for Organ Donation." Islamic Medical Association,
8/97 "Islamic
Theology for 21st Century: Non-Muslim Minorities and Islamic State." Human Sciences Research
Council,
9/98 "Civil
Society and Dialogue of Civilization," Imam Khomeini Institute of Education
and Research,
"Religious
Pluralism: A Challenge to Monopoly over Salvation," Institute for Political and International Studies,
(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,
4/01 “Genetic
Interventions, as they Impact on Human Relationships.”
4/01 “From
Defensive to Offensive Warfare: The Use and Abuse of Jihad in Muslim World.”
Program on Religion and Conflict Resolution,
4/01 “Teaching
Islam and
5/01 “Islamic
Perspectives on Human Cloning.” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,
6/01 “Religion and Medicine in Modern Society:
Islamic Perspectives on Health Care.” The Saint Vincents
Comprehensive Cancer Center,
8/01 “Holy
Lives: Saints in World Religions.” Series of lectures at The Elijah School for
the Study of Wisdom in World Religions, UNESCO,
10/01 “Can
there be religious sources for Human Rights?”
Seminar at
10/01 “The “Other” in Islamic Tradition.” Public
Lecture at
10/01 “Genetics
in the Context of Divine Purposes: Islamic Guidelines for a Multi-faith
Society.” Governor’s Conference on Human Genomics,
10/01 “Religion
and Dialogue Among Civilizations: Governance or Guidance?” State
10/01 “Militancy, Peace, and Islam.”
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.”
11/01 “The
Qur’anic Jihad and the Jihad of Osama bin Laden.”
12/01 “Human
Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy: Judaism, Western and Eastern Christianity
and Islam.” Workshop
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,
10/02 “Serving
Muslim Patients: Preparing for Cultural and Religious Sensitivities.” Conference with Internal Medicine residents,
10/02 “Religion
and Medicine: Muslim Insight on Wellness and Health Care.” Public Lecture,
10/02 “Muslim
Clinical Ethics.” Open Forum,
10/02 “Understanding
Human Suffering: Death and Dying in Islam.”
Open Forum,
10/02 “Islamic
Directives on Patient Care.” Medical
Grand Rounds,
10/02 “A
Search for Common Ground in a Multifaith Society.”
(Visiting Scholar at
1/03 “Reconstructing
2/03 “Understanding Islam in Post-9/11.” International Focus: The Middle East,
3/03 “Ethics of Genetic Engineering.” COMSTECH, American
3/03 “Genes: Who Owns Them?” COMSTECH, American
4/03 “Building Bridges of Understanding:
Religious Pluralism and Islam.”
4/03 “Iraqi Women and Their Rights in the
Post-Saddam
4/03 “Christians and Muslims Together Creating a
Culture of Peace.” The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas of
5/03 “Humanitarian Aid in
5/03 “Imagining Unity: Muslim Cultural Diversity
in
5/03 “Why Democracy? Why now?”
Keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Conference, Center for the
Study of Islam and Democracy,
5/03 “Islamic Governance in
1/04 Islamic
Biomedical Ethics: Ethics of Genetic Testing.
National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics,
3/04 Constitutional Developments in
J.
3/04 “Democratic
Constitutional Development for
6/04 “Ministering to Those in Need: The Rights
and Wrongs of Missions and Humanitarian Assistance in
7/04 “Implementation
of the Sharia in a modern democracy.”
Conference in
9/04 “Terrorism: Why are we killing one another?” 9/11 memorial lecture organized by Muslim Students Association and Arab Students Organization. 203 Physics Bldg., UVa.
9/04 “Islam and Democracy: Are they compatible?” Emory and Henry Annual Lecture on Religion and Public Life.
9/04 “Islamic Business Ethics.”
9/04 “Public Role of Religion: Guidance or
Governance?” United Nations, Special
Event, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Ministers,
9/04 “Shariati on
10/04 “Dissension and Dialogue: American Muslim
Community in the aftermath of 9/11.”
Ethics and Public Policy Center,
10/04 “Human Vicegerency: A Blessing or a
Curse? The Challenge to be God’s Caliph
in the Qur’an.” Humanity Before God
Conference, University of
10/04 “Town
Hall Meeting.” Rotunda. Forum on
US-Islam Relations
10/04 “The
Rule of Law: Democratic Politics.” Ferdowsi
10/04 “Human
Rights in Islam: Two Universalisms in Clash?”
Muslim Societies Workshop, UVA
10/04 A
Teach-In on the 2004 Elections: Democracy Matters. The Carter G. Woodson Institute of Public
Policy Forum.
10/04 Islamic
Bioethics. Religion and Medicine Course
at UVA Med School
10/04 Workshop
on Islamic Law and Ethics for Nigerian delegation under the State Department
program at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy,
10/04 Media
Distortions about Islam and Muslims.
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy,
11/04 “Civil Society in Muslim Societies: The Contribution of Women.” Women Waging
Peace Policy Day,
12/04 “Cultural and Religious in Islamic
Biomedicine: The Case of Human Cloning.” International Symposium,
Cross-Cultural Issues in Bioethics, Ruhr Unisersitat,
12/04 “The Hermeneutics of the Qur’an.” Scriptural
Studies Group,
12/04 “Religion in the
12/04 “Islamic Perspectives on Cancer Genetics and
12/04 “The Role of Islam in Modern Nation State:
Governance or Guidance?” Ministry of
Foreign Affairs,
12/04 “Islam
and Democracy: An Iranian Experience.” Ferdowsi
3/05 Islam
and Human Rights. The Edward Cadbury
Lectures 2005,
Mar 7 “The Clash of Universalisms: Religious
and Secular in Human Rights”
Mar 8 “The Nature of Islamic
Juridical-Ethical Discourse”
Mar 9 “Natural Law and Knowledge of
Ethical Necessity”
Mar 10 “Women’s Human Rights: The Case of
the Right to Marry and Rights within Marriage”
Mar 11 “Individual and Society: Claims
and Responsibilities”
Mar 12 “Freedom of Religion and
Conscience: The Foundation of Pluralistic World Order”
3/05
Islamic Principles of Bioethics.
UNESCO Lecture in
4/05 Sources
of Moral Reasoning in Islamic Biomedical Ethics. Center for Bioethics, Sind Institute of
Urology and Transplantion (SIUT),
9/05 Gifford
Lectures on Natural Theology,
Sept 6 “Human-Divine and
Human-Human in Islamic Tradition
Sept
8 “The Islamic Roots of Relational Ethics
9/05 Religious
Pluralism and Liberal Democracy,
Sept
26 “The Use and Abuse of Jihad in Muslim World, at Wahid Institute,
Sept
27 “Religious Pluralism: A Challenge to Monopoly over Salvation,” at State
Islamic University,
Sept
28 “The Roots of Democracy and Liberalism in Islam,” at
Sept
29 “The Role of Islam in Nation State: Governance or Guidance?” at Young
Muhammadiyah Activists Forum, Jakrata
Sept
30 “Human Rights in Islam and the West,” at Paramadina Foundation
Oct
3 “Public Role of Religion in Multifaith Society,” at State Islamic University,
Oct
4 “Is there a Tradition of Non-violence and Pacifism in Islam,” at State
Islamic University,
Oct
4 “The Role of Religion in National Politics of a Predominant
2/06 Human
Conscience and the Ethics of Sacrifice, a series of ten lectures at the Society
of Muslim Community of
3/07 Several
lectures and papers on various topics of Islamic Biomedical Ethics in different
universities in
2/08 Democracy
and Globalization. Arab Thought Forum,
4/08 Modern
5/08 Several
lectures and papers on Islamic Biomedical Education in different universities
in
PUBLICATIONS:
BOOKS: Islamic Messianism:
The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver
(State
University of New York, Albany, 1980).
Human
Rights and the Conflict of Cultures: Western and Islamic Perspectives on Religious
Religion
co‑authored
with D. Little and J.
(Columbia:
U.of South Carolina Press,1988)
The Just
Ruler in Twelver Shi'ism: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence (
(Indonesian
Translation, 1994)
The
Prolegomena to the Qur'an, being annotated
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 (
(Persian
Translation, 2008)
(Indonesian
Translation 2004)
(Turkish
Translation 2007)
Islamic
Biomedical Ethics: Principles and Application (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2008)
Reform
through Human Rights: Islamic Political Theology (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2009)
ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS:
"
(in Persian)
Majallah‑yi Yaghma (
"
"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.
"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.
"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:
"The
Ideal and Real in Islamic Law." Perspectives on Islamic Law,
Justice
and Society: Anthropology of Culture,
ed.
"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,
"Context
for the Ayatollah's decree: The religious and political in Islam,"
"Wilaya
of Imam `
"The
Development of Jihad in Islamic Revelation and History."
Cross,
Crescent and Sword: The Justification of War in
Western
and Islamic Traditions, ed.
"Activist
Shi`ism in
"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
"Islam
and Muslims in Diaspora." Bulletin of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies,
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.
"Islamic Theology of
Christian-Muslim Relations." Islam
and Christian- Muslim
Relations, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1997.
"Human
Clones: An Islamic View." The Human Cloning Debate, ed.
"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,” in 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. (
“Civic
Responsibility in Political Society: An Islamic Paradigm,” in Taking
Responsibility, ed. Winston Davis (
“From
Defensive to Offensive Warfare: The Use and Abuse of Jihad in the Muslim
World.” Religion, Law and the Role of
Force (
“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?”
“Political
Islam and the Hegemony of Globalization: A Response to Peter Burger.” The Hedgehog Review (Summer, 2002)
“Vodenje
ili vladanje?
“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)
"Islamic
Ethics: Differentiations." A
Companion to Religious Ethics (Blackwell Publishing, 2005), pp. 254-267.
“End
of Life Decisions from an Islamic Perspective.” LANCET (March 2005), pp.
1-11.
“The
Cultural and the Religious in Islamic Biomedicine: The Case of Human Cloning.” Cross-Cultural Issues in Bioethics: The
Example of Human Clonning (
“Human
Vicegerency A Blessing or a Curse? The
Challenge of Being God’s Caliph in the Qur’an.” Humanity Before God (
“The
Wali of God and the Wasi of the Prophet: ‘
“No
Harm, No Harassment: Major Principles of Health Care Ethics in Islam.” Handbook
of Bioethics and Religion (
“The
Search for Islamic Bioethics Principles.”
Principles of Healthcare Ethics, Second Edition, ed. by
“The
Clash of Universalisms: Religious and Secular in Human Rights,” in The Hedgehog
Review, Fall 2007, Vol. 9, Number 3, pp. 49-62.
“Islamic
Perspectives on the Ethics of Stem Cell Research,” in Controversies in
Science and Technology, 2008, Vol. 2, pp. 90-112.
“The
Beginning of Life,” in Bi-Annual DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy, pp. 44-63.
ENCYCLOPEDIA AND DICTIONARY
ARTICLES:
Agha Khan,
Ahl i‑Haqq, 'Ali b. Abi
Talib,
Assassins, Ayatollah, Bohoras, Druzes,
Fatimids,
Hasan, Husayn, Ibn Sina, Ikhwan
al‑Safa,
Imam/Imamiyya or Ithna 'Ashariyya,
Isma'iliyya,
Mahdi,
Qarmatians,
Sab'iyya, Sayyid, Sharif, Shi'a,
Zaydiyya. Abingdon Dictionary of Living
Religions
(Nashville, Tenn., 1980)
Sunni,
Ayatollah,
Mulla, Id
fitr, Id Qorban, 'Ashura,
Encyclopedia
of Asian History (The
ISLAM
(general article); Eugenics in Islamic Law;
Medical
Ethics,
Encyclopedia
of Bioethics (Macmillan)
`Ali ibn Abi
Talib, Imamah, Islamic Law: Shi`a
Schools,
Ithna `Ashariyya,
Najaf,
Ziyara. Encyclopedia of the Modern
Islamic
World (
Ziyarah. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd
Ed. (E. J. Brill)
`Askari,
Bioethics, Dar al-Taqiyya, Ethics, Fasad, Hamdala, Hilli, Hubal, Hujjah,
Idtirar, I`jaz, Imam, Imami, Imamzadeh; Ja`fari, Khutba, Ma`na, Medical Ethics,
North American Shia Muslim Communities (NASIMCO), Pluralism, Rawafid, Taghut,
World Federation of Shia Communities (WFC), Zandaqa. The
Articles:
Al-Khoie Benevolent Foundation,
Encyclopedia
of the Islamic World (
BOOK REVIEWS: (Only few
listed)
Religion and Politics
in Contemporary
Clergy‑State
Relations in the Pahlavi Period.
By Sharhrough Akhavi
(SUNY, 1980) in
Journal of Church and
State, Winter 1981, p. 133‑135.
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 (
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 (
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
PROJECT IN
PROGRESS:
Reason in
Islamic Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study of Legal Methodology in Islamic
Schools of Legal Thought
The project
undertakes to examine ethical presuppositions of Islamic religious law and
trace the development of legal-moral authority in Islamic society through the
study of works of theoretical basis of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). Muslim jurists developed the theoretical and
conceptual structures to enable them to inferentially deduce judicial decisions
from the Islamic revelation, the Qur'an and the Sunna, affecting the everyday
lives of Muslims living under different Muslim de facto powers. In view of the political demise of
religiously acknowledged caliphal position in Sunni Islam, and the absence of
the Imam through concealment in Shi`i Islam, did the development of the usuli
methodology by some leading jurists have anything to do with the ultimate
recognition of the juristic authority as the only legitimate religious
authority established by the Islamic law?
The comparison of the works on usul al-fiqh dealing with the role
of reason (al-`aql) in this regard will include the five schools: four
Sunni schools of law (Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi`i and Hanbali) and one Shi`ite (
the Imami Twelver).