Amir Hussain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Canadian /American |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Thesis | The Canadian face of Islam: Muslim communities in Toronto (2001) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Islam,interfaith dialog |
| Institutions | California State University, Northridge Loyola Marymount University |
| Website | faculty |
Amir Hussain is a scholar of religion who specializes in the study of Islam. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In November 2022 he became President of the American Academy of Religion. He has done significant publishing work withOxford University Press, including editing the fifth editions (2018) of two of their main textbooks,World Religions: Western Traditions[1] andWorld Religions: Eastern Traditions,[2] and the third edition ofA Concise Introduction to World Religions.[3]
Born inLahore,Pakistan, and raised inToronto,Ontario, Canada, Hussain received a Ph.D. and M.A. in the study of religion from theUniversity of Toronto.[4] He speaks fluently in four languages, including:Arabic,English,French, andUrdu.[5]
Hussain is a lifelong fan of theLos Angeles Lakers and theMontreal Canadiens.[6] A standout athlete in college, Hussain became close friends with formerUCLAbasketball coach,John Wooden.[7]
Before moving toLoyola Marymount University, Hussain taught as an associate professor of Religious Studies atCalifornia State University, Northridge.
A proponent of interfaith dialogue, Professor Hussain has published over 60 scholarly articles or book chapters on Islam and Muslims. He has lectured in academic arenas around the world, and appeared on several television programs, most notablyPolitically Incorrect[8] withBill Maher andThe Tavis Smiley Show.[9] He was a consultant forThe Story of God with Morgan Freeman, and appears regularly onAncient Aliens andThe UnXplained with William Shatner.
Professor Hussain is also a senior editor for religion for Oxford Handbooks Online.[10] Prior to his edited textbooks, he wroteMuslims and the Making of America, published in 2016 by Baylor University Press.[11] From 2011 to 2015 he was the editor of theJournal of the American Academy of Religion, the flagship journal for the study of religion.[12] He is also on the editorial boards of four other scholarly journals for the study of religion. In 2005, he joined the Department of Theological Studies atLoyola Marymount University, theJesuit university inLos Angeles.[13] He has written numerous scholarly articles on Islam and Muslims, and is recognized as an authority on Islam in North America. He is a fellow of theLos Angeles Institute for the Humanities.[14]
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