Abdulaziz Sachedina is Professor and International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) Chair in Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Biography

He has been a professor for 33 years, beginning in 1975. He annually teaches courses on Classical

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, Islam in the Modern Age, Islam, Democracy and Human Rights, Islamic Bioethics and Muslim Theology. He was born in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, his heritage originally is from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He has an MA/PhD from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and has BA degrees from Aligarh Muslim University in

and

Ferdowsi University of Mashad Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM, fa, دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد, ''Danushgah-e Ferdusi-ye Mashhad'') is a public university in Mashhad, the capital city of the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan Province, Razavi Khorasan. FUM is n ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. He was one of the students of Dr.

Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Mazinani ( fa, علی شریعتی مزینانی, 23 November 1933 – 18 June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intell ...

in Iran. In 1997, Grand Ayatollah

Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani ( fa, لطف‌الله صافی گلپایگانی; 20 February 1919 – 1 February 2022) was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He was at one point the most senior Twelver Shia scholar (Marja') in Iran until his death. He re ...

thanked him for his translation of a book on

Imam Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad wh ...

into English, originally written by Ayatollah

Ebrahim Amini Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini (30 June 1925 – 24 April 2020) was an Iranian conservative politician who was a member of the Assembly of Experts. He was also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and was previously identified as a possible ...

. The acknowledgement letter was published by the Iranian

Hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...

magazine. In 1998, Grand

Ayatollah Sistani Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been described ...

issued a statement against Sachedina that advised Muslims not to listen to his talks or to ask him questions about religious matters. (See original text in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

). In addition to his work at the university, Professor Sachedina has been a consultant to the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

regarding Middle Eastern affairs and was an adviser to those drafting the Constitution of Iraq that was put into effect in 2005. He speaks

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, Swahili, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Bibliography

* ''The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence'' Oxford University Press Inc (USA), 1998, * ''The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Inc (USA), 2000, * ''The Islamic World: Past and Present'' John L. Esposito (Editor), Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina (Editor): Oxford University Press Inc (USA), 2004, * ''Islamic Biomedical Ethics''

(USA), 2009, * ''Islamic Messianism'' State Univ of New York Press (USA), 1981, * ''Human Rights and the Conflict of Cultures'' co-authored with David Little and John Kelsay:

South Carolina Press South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

(USA), 1988, * ''Prolegomena to the Qur'an" being trans of Abu al-Qasim al-Khui's Al-Bayan''

(USA), 1988 * ''Recueil de textes du professeur Abdulaziz Sachedina'', Editions Publibook (France), 2008, * ''Islamic messianism: the idea of Mahdī in twelver Shīʻism'', State University of New York, 1981,

References

External links

Faculty page at George Mason University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachedina, Abdulaziz 1942 births Living people Aligarh Muslim University alumni Ferdowsi University of Mashad alumni University of Toronto alumni University of Virginia faculty American male writers of Indian descent Shia scholars of Islam George Mason University faculty Tanzanian emigrants to the United States American Shia Muslims American people of Gujarati descent Muslim reformers