John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an American academic, professor of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as professor of religion, international affairs, and Islamic studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is also the founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding at Georgetown.

Biography

For nearly twenty years after completing his Ph.D., Esposito had taught religious studies (including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam) at the College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit college in Massachusetts. At the College of the Holy Cross, he 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's Center for International Studies. At Georgetown University, Esposito holds the position of university professor and teaches as both professor of religion and international affairs and professor of Islamic studies.

Esposito completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of the influential Islamic scholar Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi. Esposito 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.

Esposito is a Catholic.

Bibliography

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

Editor

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

Books

  • Political Islam: Radicalism, Revolution or Reform (1997),
  • The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (3rd edition: 1999),
  • Makers of Contemporary Islam, co-authored John Voll (2001),
  • Women in Muslim Family Law, co-authored with Natana J. Delong-Bas (2nd edition: 2002)
  • Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (2002),
  • Islam: The Straight Path (1st edition: 1988, 3rd edition: 2004),
  • The Future of Islam (2010),
  • What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam (1st edition: 2002. 2nd edition: 2011),
  • Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think, co-authored with Dalia Mogahed (2008),

Collections

This section may include written or editorial contributions to collections of works by various scholars.

  • Voices of Resurgent Islam, as editor (1983),
  • Islam and Democracy, as co-editor with John Voll (1996),
  • Islam and Politics, as editor (1st edition: 1984, 4th edition: 1998),
  • Islam, Gender and Social Change, as co-editor with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (1997),
  • Muslims on the Americanization Path?, as co-editor with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (2000),
  • Iran at the Crossroads, as co-editor with R. K. Ramazani (2000),
  • Modernizing Islam: Religion in the Public Sphere in the Middle East and Europe, as co-editor with Francois Burgat (2003),
  • Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gulen Movement, as co-editor with M. Hakan Yavuz (2003),
  • Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics, & Society, as editor (2006),
  • Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century as co-editor with Ibrahim Kalin (2011),

References

  • John L. Esposito - The Future of Islam lecture at the University of Kentucky