SCHOOL of INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

American University · Washington, D.C.

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES – Akbar Ahmed

Akbar Ahmed
Comparative & Regional Studies

Phone
202-885-1961

Fax
202-885-2494

E-Mail
akbar@american.edu

Location
McCabe, Room 215

Web site
www.akbarahmed.org

Biography
Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University. He is considered "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam," according to BBC. He is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain, and has advised Prince Charles and met with President George W. Bush on Islam. His numerous books, films and documentaries have won prestigious awards and his books have been translated into several languages including Chinese and Indonesian.

Ahmed is regularly interviewed on CNN, CBC, the BBC, ARY TV and has appeared several times on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Night Line. In February 2005, the National Cathedral held a special Evensong Service to honor him. He spoke at the Chairmans Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series at the Pentagon and gave the inaugural lecture for the first Chair in Jewish-Muslim Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He presented and narrated "The Glories of Islamic Art", the three-part television series for Channel 5, UK, broadcast in 2006 and he has recorded 12 lectures for an audio CD series, "Encountering Islam", for NowYouKnow Media, Washington DC. He is Senior Advisor to an innovative on-line project for an Islamic syllabus for Jones Knowledge Inc.

Ahmed's most recent book book, Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization, is published by the Brookings Institution Press. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution in addition to his tenure appointment at American University. He was nominated as the "Most Inspiring Person of the Year 2005" and a finalist in the poll conducted by BeliefNet.

Education
PhD, University of London
MA and Diploma in Education,Cambridge University
Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honors), Birmingham University

Publications
Books

• Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization. Brookings Institution Press. 1 edition, May 7, 2007.
• After Terror: Promoting Dialogue Among Civilizations. Co-Edited by Brian Forst. Polity Press, 2005.
• Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World. Polity Press, 2003.
• Resistance and Control in Pakistan. Routledge, 2nd Edition, 2004.
• Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise. Routledge, 1992 (republished in 2004).
• Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society. Routledge, 2nd Edition, 2002.
• Islam Today: A Short Introduction to The Muslim World. I.B. Tauris, 1999 (revised).
• The Future of Anthropology: Its Relevance to the Contemporary World. Co-Edited by Chris Shore. Athlone Press, 1999.
• Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity. Routledge, 1997.
• Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity. Routledge, 1994.
• Pakistan: The Social Sciences' Perspective. Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Religion and Politics in Muslim Society: Order and Conflict in Pakistan. Royal Book Co., 1987.
• Toward Islamic Anthropology: Definition, Dogma, and Directions. Vanguard Books, 1987.
• Pieces of Green, the Sociology of Change in Pakistan, 1964-1974. Royal Book Co., 1977.
• Social and economic change in the Tribal Areas, 1972-1976. Oxford University Press, 1977.

• America Must Stay Focused on Pakistan. Forward.com, December 5, 2007.
• What's fundamentalist about wanting to live in dignity?, Akbar Ahmed, Op-Ed in The Independent, July 19, 2007.
• Talking Can Stop Hate. Akbar Ahmed. Featured in AARP Magazine. Mary & April, 2007.
• Uniting Over Jesus Christ. Akbar Ahmed and Alan Hertzke. Washington Times Op-Ed, December 11, 2006.
• Mozart and Muslims: What Have We Learned? Akbar Ahmed, special to Newsweek.
• Carving the Path for Muslim-Jewish Dialogue. Akbar Ahmed and Judea Pearl.
• A Small Step Towards Interfaith Dialogue. Akbar Ahmed, Special to Arab News.
• Dispatches From The Muslim World, "Reflections of East Asia". Akbar Ahmed, published by www.beliefnet.com.
• Islam and Freedom of Thought: Silencing Scholars, by Akbar Ahmed and Lawrence Rosen. From the Chronicle of Higher Education, November 2001.
• Islam's Crossroads - Islamic Leadership: Moderation or Militancy. By Akbar Ahmed, 1999.

• "Jinnah", Executive Produced and Co-written by Akbar Ahmed
• 'Noor', a play by Akbar Ahmed

Ahmed is regularly interviewed on CNN, CBC, the BBC, ARY TV and has appeared several times on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Night Line. 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. He initiated, developed and completed "The Jinnah Quartet" - a feature film, a documentary and two books on M.A. Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Ahmed is Consultant and interviewed for "Rumi Returning", a major television film on the mystic poet. He is an expert panelist with the online feature, "On Faith," for the Washington Post and Newsweek. He has recorded 12 lectures for an audio CD series, "Encountering Islam", for NowYouKnow Media, Washington DC and is Senior Advisor to an innovative on-line project for an Islamic syllabus for Jones Knowledge Inc.

Selected Awards

• Centennial Honorary Chair of the Washington National Cathedral Centennial Celebration (along with Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Justice Sandra Day OConnor)
• 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.
• Dr. Ahmed and Judea Pearl were jointly featured on Beliefnet.com as two of The Most Inspiring People of 2005
• Star of Excellence, one of Pakistans highest honors
• The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in London
• 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
• Appointed Senior Fellow for the Case Foundation, Washington, D.C.
• Appointed Non-Resident Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Professional and Academic Associations

• Member of The Royal Anthropological Institute, the Association of Social Anthropologists, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the United Oxford and Cambridge University Club, London
• Member of the Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.
• Member of the Incident Management Team for the Department of Homeland Security
• Trustee of the World Faiths Development Dialogue set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of the World Bank
• Trustee on the Board of the Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions
• Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Hasan Family Foundation
• Senior Fellow of The Case Foundation
• Co-Chair of the Hope Not Hate Town Hall meetings in the US organized by the Americans for Informed Democracy in 2004
• Consulting Distinguished Scholar, The Buxton Initiative, Washington, D.C.
• Senior Advisor, Center for Workable Solutions
• President of The Advisory Council of The Society for Dialogue and Action, Cambridge, UK

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This page was last updated on: February 6, 2008.