President Joel N. Lohr and Hartford Seminary are pleased to announce that, as of July 1, Dr. Hossein Kamaly will hold the Imam Ali Chair for Shi’i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools. He will also be Associate Professor of Islamic Studies.

The chair, established in 2015, is the first dedicated to Shi’i Studies in North America. Its mission is to provide a voice in the academy for Shi’i Islam, as well as encouraging dialogue among Islamic schools of thought and practice, including Shi’i and Sunni law.

Dr. Kamaly has taught in New York City for many years. He was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Barnard College and Columbia University from 2007-2017. He has also taught at the City University of New York, Hunter College, and Brooklyn College.

He brings deep understanding of and love for interreligious dialogue, as well as a keen interest in helping to bring Islamic schools of thought into discussion with each other in a way that builds bridges of peace in the world. Ours is a world in need of careful, clear thinking, and sensitive discourse.

He has a Master’s and Ph.D., both in History, from Columbia University. He is the author of two monographs, God & Man in Tehran (Columbia University Press, 2018) and the forthcoming A History of Islam in 21 Women (One world Publications), as well as many journal articles in both English and Persian.

Source: Hartford Seminary