Mason welcomes Sachedina as new IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies

Mason welcomes Sachedina as new IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies

The Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies is proud to welcome Mason's new IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies, Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina from the University of Virginia. Based in the Department of Religious Studies, he will be teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, enhancing students’ academic experience in both the Islamic Studies Minor program and the newly launched Masters program in Middle East and Islamic Studies.

Sachedina, whose career spans over three decades of scholarly work, is a major figure in contemporary Islamic thought. His pioneering excavations of classical Islamic sources in relation to major contemporary themes such as democracy, human rights, and biomedical ethics have established him as a scholar of truly international standing.

He is the author of several books including The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism, Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights, and Islamic Biomedical Ethics. He has also written numerous entries for the Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, and has published hundreds of articles, book chapters, and book reviews in several languages.

In his first semester at Mason this spring, Sachedina is teaching one undergraduate course, RELI 376-001: Law, Ethics, and Society in Islam, and one graduate course, RELI 591: Approaches to the Study of Islam, one of the five core courses for the new Masters Degree in Middle East and Islamic Studies.

By adding Professor Sachedina to its distinguished list of Islamic Studies faculty, Mason has taken yet another stride in strengthening its position, nationally and globally, as a premier hub of research, teaching, and outreach in Islamic Studies.