Exiled Scholars in Western Academia: Refugees or Intellectuals?

Published by Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2025
ISBN: 978-3-031-83774-6

This volume focuses on the experiences of refugee scholars in Western academia through first-hand narratives that move between dominant humanitarianism and the academic establishment. It provides an intellectual view of this humanitarian industry from a refugee perspective, alongside stories of the refugee scholars’ contribution to the production of knowledge in the West. Contributors discuss their unique experiences and reflect on the changing nature of knowledge production, transfer, and exchange in a world increasingly affected by forced migration. Such reflections are not new. However, in this volume, they explore how personal life difficulties and/or successes, mixed with emotional distress and cultural adjustments, could be framed into a scholarly analysis of academia in exile. In today’s globalized world, the term “refugee” often evokes both sympathy and criticism, leaving refugee scholars in Western universities to ponder the ambivalent nature of their identity. This duality of identity creates new opportunities for rethinking concepts such as humanitarianism, indigenization, asylum, diversity, equity, and integration, as well as scholar activism and the transnational production of knowledge in twenty-first-century universities. Assembling scholars from around the world working in political sciences, international studies, anthropology, law, philosophy, and the humanities, this volume addresses both the geopolitical predicaments and the intellectual contributions of exiled academics in our troubled times.

The Making of Shia Ayatollahs

Published by Bloomsbury Academic, 2023
ISBN: 9781793655158

The Making of Shia Ayatollahs offers both insider and outsider views of how a scholar becomes an Ayatollah in Shia Islam, how ayatollahs suggest diverse perspectives on faith, and how the grand ayatollahs are recognized by a balance of many factors, including piety, scholarship, popularity, and networking. This book consists of two parts. The first begins with the core value of knowledge in Islam and the Ulama’s interpretation of jurisprudence and the subjects, values, and methodology they have developed and are applying to challenges found in the faithful practices in modern life. The author reveals the mechanisms of madrasa, hawza, their curricula, and the recognition of a scholar as an ayatollah. The second part elaborates on the rich and sometimes bitter pluralism and debate within the community of ayatollahs regarding topics including denominational identity and intra-faith work, Sufism and mysticism, Philosophy (falsafa and wisdom), modernization and the West, political power and government, and women in public life. After providing a historical background on each subject, the author takes the reader into the heart of current debates among ayatollahs in Qum, Mashhad, Najaf, and Beirut without sacrificing accuracy and originality to educate a wide range of readers.

Intellectual and Spiritual Debates in Islam – A Comprehensive Guide to Islamic Discourse’s Intellectual Origins

Published by Cluj University Press, 2023
ISBN: 978-606-37-1890-8

This book explores the intellectual foundations of Islamic discourse, addressing both its rational and spiritual dimensions. It offers a comprehensive and integrated overview of the ʿulūm al-ʿaqlīyah (rational sciences) and ʿulūm al-naqlīyah(scriptural sciences), tracing their development from the inception of Islam to the present day. Incorporating both Sunni and Shia perspectives, the book is designed to serve both specialists and general readers. Importantly, it speaks to both insider and outsider audiences. Scholars and students within Islamic studies often express frustration at the lack of a clear, accessible text that presents the essential scholarship on Islamic civilization in a way that connects each intellectual tradition to the broader landscape of Islamic thought. Meanwhile, those outside the field frequently struggle to grasp the complexities of Islamic intellectual heritage—especially in a time when Islam is often misrepresented in public discourse. This book fills a critical gap. Much of the existing scholarship is highly technical, dense with jargon, and methodologically complex—making it inaccessible to many. While insiders may appreciate these works, they often lose sight of the broader picture, unable to connect specific cases to the wider intellectual tradition. This volume aims to bridge that divide, offering clarity, context, and coherence to a field that is both rich and essential to understanding the past and present of Islamic thought.

The Etiquette Guidelines of Critical Thinking

Published by Lulu.com, 2023
ISBN-10: 1312548533 ISBN-13: 978-1312548534

A comprehensive and accessible introduction to the standards of critical thinking that provides rules for the etiquette and ethics of good reasoning, assessing, and organizing sound arguments. It addresses anyone who wants to use reasons and evidence in support of their conclusions; to be clear, not confusing; be persuasive, not dogmatic; and learn to evaluate arguments in both verbal and written contexts, in personal and public discourse. The author develops ideas carefully and simply, step by step, allowing the reader to develop their own interpretive, verification, and reasoning skills along the way. An enlightened society, the book argues, is only possible if students develop critical thinking. This book is the first one of its kind in Farsi.

From Mawlana to Nietzsche: The meditation on tradition, modernity, and postmodernism

Published by Sulok-e Javan (Qom, Iran), 1386/2007
ISBN: 964-9958-01-0

A collection of in-depth articles on comparative studies, in the Persian language, seeking to dialogue among pre-modernity, modernity, and postmodernity by selecting human subjects such as life, human rights, intuition, religion, rationality, modern science, and religious pluralism. Mawlana (Rumi) (1207-1273) and Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (1154-1191) are selected from the pre-modern world, Kant from the modern world, and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) from the postmodern world. Each paper was presented in an academic setting, most before international audiences, and is now gathered together here in one volume. Much consideration is also given to the Islamic peripatetic tradition.

The Secular and The Sacred: Complementary and or Conflictual?

Published by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (Washington, D.C, 2017)
ISBN: 978-156-518-320-9

The issue of the relationship between the sacred and the secular has become paramount in nearly every part of the world. From church-state tensions in the United States—seen in debates over abortion and same-sex marriage—to the polarizing discourse in France surrounding the veil (hijab), the sacred-secular divide touches all aspects of personal, social, and political life. Is Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations becoming a reality? Is conflict inevitable? This volume gathers contributions from global scholars who collectively answer: not necessarily. Drawing on figures such as Charles Taylor, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jürgen Habermas, and John Rawls, as well as diverse religious traditions, the authors argue for a deeper, more constructive interplay between sacred and secular values. The need for such complementarity is especially urgent in addressing global challenges like cultural identity, multiculturalism, nationalism, economic disparity, race, terrorism, migration, public education, and climate change. Structured across seven sections—Foundations, Sacred, and Secular: Complement or Conflict; Hermeneutics; African Traditions; South Asian Traditions; Chinese Traditions; and Islamic Traditions—this volume presents thoughtful, contextually rich perspectives on how these dynamics unfold across cultures and traditions. It is a vital conversation—one the world needs now more than ever.

The Philosophical Discourse between Islam and the West

Published by Al-Mustafa International University (Qom, Iran), 1387/2008
ISBN: 978-964-195-005-9

The Philosophical Discourse between Islam and the West examines foundational philosophical themes—being, time, causality, arguments for God’s existence, and the nature of religious language—through a comparative lens. It juxtaposes transcendental wisdom from Islamic thinkers with major Western figures such as Heidegger, Bergson, Hume, Kant, and proponents of linguistic analysis. Drawing on general commonalities in rational discourse across traditions, Dr. Sayed Hassan Akhlaq argues for a meaningful, ongoing dialogue between Islamic and Western philosophical currents

The Tradition of Enlightenment in the West and Islam

Published by Amir Kabir (Tehran, Iran)
ISBN: 978-964-00-1231-4

This book offers a detailed comparative study of Islamic peripatetic philosophy and the Enlightenment thought of eighteenth-century Europe. Dr. Sayed Hassan Akhlaq presents a critical philosophical reading of Western modernity alongside an enlightened interpretation of classical Islamic philosophy. In doing so, the book challenges two dominant assumptions often found in contemporary Islamic thought: first, that the pinnacle of Islamic philosophy is solely represented by transcendent wisdom (ḥikmat-e mutaʿāliya); and second, that Islamic philosophy is merely an extension of Islamic theology. Akhlaq also brings a nuanced critique of Enlightenment philosophy, highlighting its positivist tendencies while uncovering the redemptive and humanistic dimensions often overlooked. This work invites a deeper reflection on the shared intellectual heritage and potential for meaningful dialogue between the Islamic and Western philosophical traditions.

From the Tradition of Balkh to the Modernity of Paris

Published by Nebras Research Institute (Kabul, Afghanistan), 1389/2010
B: 745.N49 A44 2011

This book presents a series of studies on key philosophical and cultural issues at the intersection of Afghan Islamic heritage and Western thought. It begins by exploring the shared ground and tensions between literature, philosophy, and critical theory, followed by an analysis of the contributions of three major Afghan thinkers—Abu Zaid Balkhi, Abu al-Qasim Balkhi, and Abu al-Mansur al-Maturidi—whose rationalist ideas remain relevant for intercultural understanding today. Additional chapters examine Jamal al-Din al-Afghani’s views on civilizational confrontation and Western progress, and offer comparative readings of al-Farabi and Machiavelli, Avicenna and Enlightenment thinkers, Averroes and modern philosophy, and the ethical frameworks of al-Ghazali and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The book concludes by drawing on Afghanistan’s intellectual legacy to propose new models for engaging with modernity, Westernization, and cross-cultural dialogue.

Life After Death, Resurrection, Judgment and the Final Destiny of the Soul: Volume 1 and Volume 2

Published by Kazi Publications (Chicago, USA), Reprint edition (October 01, 2025)
ISBN–10: 1567445500 ISBN–13: 978-1567445503

This book delves into one of the core tenets of Islamic faith: the belief in life after death. It presents a series of lectures by Allāmah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayni Tihrani, a 20th-century Shia scholar and mystic, who explores the philosophical and theological dimensions of the soul’s journey, the nature of resurrection, the Day of Judgment, and the ultimate meeting with the Creator—all from a Shia mystical (ʿirfānī) perspective.

Drawing on Sufi traditions, Transcendental Wisdom (ḥikmat-e mutaʿāliyah), classical Islamic philosophy, as well as Qur’anic verses and Hadiths from the Prophet and his family, the book offers profound insights into the spiritual and ethical implications of human actions. With a clear and methodical approach, it guides readers in understanding the deep connection between earthly behavior and eternal destiny.

Akhlaq translated chapters 24–32 of the first volume and collaborated on the translation of the entire second volume.