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John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an Italian-American academic,
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
of
Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
in Washington, D.C. He is also the founding director of the
Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) is an interfaith institution based at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington. Overview The institution was founded at Georgetown Universi ...
at Georgetown.


Biography

For nearly twenty years after completing his Ph.D., Esposito had taught Religious studies (including
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, and
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
) at the College of the Holy Cross, a
Jesuit college The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. At the College of the Holy Cross, Esposito held the Loyola Professor of Middle East Studies position, was the chair of the Department of Religious Studies, and director of the College of the Holy Cross' Center for International Studies.Bio of John Esposito
Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
. . Accessed February 23, 2007
At
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
, Esposito holds the position of University Professor and teaches as both Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Professor of Islamic Studies. He published ''Islam and Politics'' in 1984, and '' Islam: The Straight Path'' in 1988. Both books sold well, going through many editions. In addition to more than 35 books, he is editor-in-chief of a number of Oxford reference works including ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World'', ''The Oxford History of Islam'', '' The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'' (six vols.), and ''Oxford Islamic Studies Online''. In 1988, he was elected president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA). He has also served as president of the American Academy of Religion and president of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies. He served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy from 1999 to 2004 he was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders, the High Level Group of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations and the E. C. European Network of Experts on De-Radicalisation. He was an advisor to the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary '' Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet'' (2002), produced b
Unity Productions Foundation
A recipient of the American Academy of Religion’s 2005 Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion and of Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Award for Outstanding Contributions in Islamic Studies, in 2003 he received the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University Award for Outstanding Teaching. Esposito founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in 1993 and is its founding director. The center received a $20 million endowment from Saudi Arabian Prince
Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist and royal. He was listed on ''Time'' magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hu ...
"to advance education in the fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding and strengthen its presence as a world leader in facilitating cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue." Esposito is a Catholic.


Works

Selected works as author, co-author, or editor, include titlers listed below.


Editor

* ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'', as editor (2009, 5 volume set) * ''The Oxford History of Islam'', as editor (2004) * ''The Islamic World: Past and Present'', as editor (2004, 3 volume set) * ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World'', as editor (1995, 4 volume set) * '' The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', as editor (1994)


Books

* ''Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think'', coauthored with
Dalia Mogahed Dalia Mogahed (born 1975), is an American researcher and consultant of Egyptian origin. She is the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) in Washington, D.C. She is also President and CEO of Mogahed Con ...
(2008) * ''What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam'' (1st edition: 2002. 2nd edition: 2011) * ''The Future of Islam'' (2010) * '' Islam: The Straight Path'' (1st edition: 1988, 3rd edition: 2004) * ''Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam'' (2002) * ''Women in Muslim Family Law'', coauthored with
Natana J. Delong-Bas Natana J. DeLong-Bas is an American academic, scholar of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, and author of a number of academic publications on Islam on the subjects of Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism, Islamic thought and history, Islam and politics, ...
(2nd edition: 2002) * ''Makers of Contemporary Islam'', coauthored John Voll (2001) * ''The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?'' (3rd edition: 1999) * ''Political Islam: Radicalism, Revolution or Reform'' (1997)


Collections

This section may include written or editorial contributions to collections of works by various scholars. * ''Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century'' as coeditor with Ibrahim Kalin (2011) * ''Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics, & Society'', as editor (2006) * ''Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gulen Movement'', as coeditor with M. Hakan Yavuz (2003) * ''Modernizing Islam: Religion in the Public Sphere in the Middle East and Europe'', as coeditor with Francois Burgat (2003) * ''Iran at the Crossroads'', as coeditor with R.K. Ramazani (2000) * ''Muslims on the Americanization Path?'', as coeditor with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (2000) * ''Islam, Gender and Social Change'', as coeditor with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (1997) * ''Islam and Politics'', as editor (1st edition: 1984, 4th edition: 1998) * ''Islam and Democracy'', as coeditor with John Voll (1996) * ''Voices of Resurgent Islam'', as editor (1983)


References


External links

* * * *
John L. Esposito - The Future of Islam lecture at the University of Kentucky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esposito, John 1940 births American people of Italian descent American religion academics American Roman Catholics American scholars of Islam Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Christian and Islamic interfaith dialogue Christian scholars of Islam College of the Holy Cross faculty Georgetown University faculty Harvard University people Living people Middle Eastern studies in the United States People in interfaith dialogue Religious studies scholars St. John's University (New York City) alumni Temple University alumni