Profile

Akbar Ahmed

Professor
School of International Service

  • Additional Positions at AU

    Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies
  • Ambassador Akbar Ahmed is currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University in Washington DC, the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, and Cambridge Universities and has been called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” by the BBC. He has advised General David Petraeus, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and other US agencies on Islam and foreign policy. He is regularly interviewed by CNN, NPR BBC, and Fox and has appeared several times on Oprah. He is the author of over a dozen award-winning books, including Discovering Islam, which was the basis of the BBC six-part TV series called “Living Islam.” Following up on his critically acclaimed Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization, his latest project, based on extensive fieldwork, has resulted in a full length documentary, Journey into America, shown at several film festivals and the book, Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam (Brookings Press, July 2010).

  • Degrees

    PhD, University of London; MA/Diploma in Education, Cambridge University; BSS (Honors), Birmingham University

  • Favorite Spot on Campus:

    Mary Graydon Center

    Book Currently Reading:

    A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster

    Languages Spoken:

    Urdu, French, English
  • DOWNLOAD FULL BIO (PDF)

  • OFFICE

  • SIS - School of International Service
  • SIS - 200G

  • CONTACT INFO

  • (202) 885-1641 (Office)
  • Send email Profile UserID

  • FOR THE MEDIA

  • To request an interview for a
    news story, call AU Communications
    at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Partnerships & Affiliations

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Teaching

  • Spring 2012

    • SIS-400 Senior Sem in Int'l Relations: Cinema & Pol in Muslim Society
    • Description

  • Fall 2012

    • SIS-419 Adv Topics in Int'l Relations: Bridging the Great Divide
    • Description

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • The Heschel-King Award for Interfaith Activism from the Park Avenue Christian Church  and the Temple of Universal Judaism in New York City
  • Centennial Honorary Chair of the Washington National Cathedral Centennial Celebration (along with Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor)
  • Inaugural Purpose Prize winner, with Judea Pearl. The Purpose Prize is a major new initiative to invest in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation
  • Star of Excellence, one of Pakistan’s highest honors
  • First Annual Bridge Builders Award from the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington
  • Humanitarian Award, the highest honor of the Chapel of Four Chaplains Professor of the Year Award, 2004 for Washington DC by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
  • Gandhi Center Fellowship of Peace Award
  • Appointed Senior Distinguished Fellow for the Hassan Family Foundation  

Films/Documentaries

  • "The Glories of Islamic Art" [narrator, Channel 5 (UK)], 2006
  • "Living Islam" [narrator] BBC, 1993

Recordings

  • “Encountering Islam” (lecturer, NowYouKnow Media), 2006

Media Appearances

Dr. Ahmed is often interviewed on CNN, CBC, the BBC, ARY TV and has appeared several times on “Oprah” and “Nightline.” He presented and narrated "Living Islam," the six-part BBC television series, in 1993 and "The Glories of Islamic Art," the three-part television series for Channel 5, UK, broadcast in 2006.

You can view some of his recent interviews below:

Multimedia

  • "Jinnah," (executive producer, co-writer)
  • "Noor," (playwright)
  • "The Trial of Dara Shikoh" (playwright)
  • "Waziristan to Washington", (writer, performer)

Congressional Testimony

  • Congressional hearing to discuss U.S. policy towards Iran (December 2007)

AU Expert

Area of Expertise: Islam, Islam in America, Mosques, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, anthropology, comparative and regional studies

Additional Information: Akbar Ahmed  is a diplomat, anthropologist, writer, and filmmaker. Ahmed has held important posts in Pakistan and Bangladesh—including Pakistan's high commissioner (ambassador) to the United Kingdom; commissioner, Quetta; political agent, South Waziristan Agency; and founder-director general of the National Center for Rural Development, Islamabad. He has been involved in interfaith dialogue and the study of global Islam and its impact on contemporary society. Ahmed is the author or coeditor of books on contemporary Islam, including  Islam under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World; Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society; Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise; Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World; and After Terror: Promoting the Dialogue of Civilizations. Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization chronicles Ahmed's experiences leading a team of young  Americans on a tour of the Muslim world to seek understanding between Western and Islamic cultures. He recently took a similar journey with young Americans across the United States called Journey Into America. During this unprecedented project, the team travelled to more than 75 cities and 100 mosques to understand the largely unknown Muslim community. The project produced a film which has been shown at campuses and film festivals throughout the world and a book, Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam.

Ahmed was appointed the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He embarked on a speaker series with Judea Pearl, father of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Ahmed has made numerous television appearances, including on The Oprah Winfrey Show,The Daily Show with John Stewart, CNN, NBC Nightly News, and the BBC. He has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and magazines and writes regularly for
journals, magazines, Web sites, and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post,and CNN. 

Media Relations
To request an interview please call AU Media Relations at 202-885-5950 or submit an interview request form.

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