Background

• Ph.D (Harvard University)
• M.A. (University of Pennsylvania)
• BA (American University of Beirut)

Areas of Study

• Shi’ite Islam
• Comparative religions
• Interfaith dialogue
• Christian-Muslim relations

Biography

Mahmoud M. Ayoub was born in South Lebanon. He received his education at the American University of Beirut (BA, Philosophy, 1964), the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., Religious Thought, 1966), and Harvard University (Ph.D., History of Religion, 1975).

From 1988 to 2008, he was a Professor and director of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia, an Adjunct Professor at the Duncan Black Macdonald Center, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut, a Research Fellow at the Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania and the Tolson visiting professor at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley California. In 1998, Dr. Ayoub helped devise and launch a graduate M.A. level program in Muslim-Christian relations and comparative religion for the Centre for Christian-Muslim Studies, University of Balamand, Lebanon, and since the Spring of 1999, has been its visiting professor. Mahmoud Ayoub has also previously taught at San Diego State University, the University of Toronto, and McGill University.

Throughout his academic career, Mahmoud Ayoub has received distinguished awards and scholarships, both for his achievements and researches. Among others, he was a recipient of the Kent Doctoral Fellowship and the Canada Council Fellowship. In 1994-5, he participated in the Fulbright Exchange of Scholars program for Malaysia. In the Spring-Summer of 2000, he  undertook a research project on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt and Lebanon, also on a Fulbright scholarship.

Mahmoud Ayoub is the author of a number of books including, Redemptive Suffering in Islam and The Qur’an and Its Interpreters (vol. 1 & 2). The summer of 2000 saw the release of his two-volume publication, Dirasat fi al-‘Alaqat al-Masihiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Arabic (Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations). Islam: Faith and History appeared in 2004. In addition, his articles have appeared in books and journals, like, The Muslim World, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Bulletin of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (Tokyo, Japan) and Islamochristiana (Rome, Italy), among many others. Prof. Ayoub has also served and is still serving on a number of Advisory and Editorial Boards.

Mahmoud Ayoub’s authority in both the scholarship and comparative study of Islam and Muslim-Christian relations, as well as inter-religious dialogue, is demonstrated by the national and international recognition he has received. This is reflected by his numerous local and overseas scholarly engagements. Since 1999, Dr. Ayoub has participated in the United States’ Department of State’s program, serving as one of its ambassadors to various parts of the Middle East and S.E. Asia, commenting on American society and institutions, inter-religious dialogue and Islam in America.