Amir Hussain
Professor of Theological Studies | Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES
Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Photos:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Biography
Dr. Amir Hussain is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he teaches courses on world religions. His own particular speciality is the study of Islam, focusing on contemporary Muslim societies in North America. His academic degrees (BSc, MA, PhD) are all from the University of Toronto where he received a number of awards, including the university’s highest award for alumni service. For 2011 to 2015, Amir is the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the premier scholarly journal for the study of religion. He has a deep commitment to students, and holds the distinction of being the only male to serve as Dean of Women at University College, University of Toronto. Before coming to California in 1997, Amir taught courses in religious studies at several universities in Canada. He is active in academic groups such as the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion and the American Academy of Religion. He is on the editorial boards of four scholarly journals, the Journal of Religion, Conflict and Peace; Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life; the Ethiopian Journal of Religious Studies; and Comparative Islamic Studies. Amir is also interested in areas such as religion and music, religion and literature, religion and film and religion and popular culture. In 2008, he was appointed a fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. Prior to his appointment at Loyola Marymount University, Amir taught at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) from 1997 to 2005. Amir won a number of awards at CSUN, both for his teaching and research. In 2001 he was selected for the outstanding faculty award by the National Center on Deafness. For the academic year 2003-04, he was selected as the Jerome Richfield Memorial Scholar. In both 2008 and 2009, Amir was chosen by vote of LMU students as the Professor of the Year. He is the co-editor for the fourth editions of World Religions: Western Traditions, and World Religions: Eastern Traditions, textbooks published in 2014 by Oxford University Press. He is also the co-editor for the third edition of A Concise Introduction to World Religions, published by OUP in 2015. Prior to those books, he wrote an introduction to Islam for North Americans entitled Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God (Kelowna: Copper House, 2006). He has published over 50 book chapters and scholarly articles about religion.
Education (3)
University of Toronto: Ph.D., Centre for the Study of Religion
University of Toronto: M.A., Centre for the Study of Religion
University of Toronto: B.Sc., Psychology
Areas of Expertise (4)
Interfaith Dialogue
Islam and Muslim Lives in the United States;
Muslim Communities in North America
Religion on Film and Television
Accomplishments (5)
Fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities (professional)
Appointed in 2008
Professor of the Year (professional)
Selected by vote of LMU students in 2008 and 2009
Editor, The Journal of the American Academy of Religion (professional)
From 2011-2015
Senior Editor for Oxford Handbooks Online: Religion (professional)
A new online reference from Oxford University Press, appointed in 2012
Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (professional)
Fall 2016, at University of Southern California
Affiliations (1)
- Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities
Links (1)
Languages (4)
- English
- French
- Urdu
- Arabic
Courses (9)
Religions of the World
Religions of the World
Islam
Islam
Muslim/Jewish Theology
Muslim/Jewish Theology
Islam in America
Islam in America
Islam in the Modern World
Islam in the Modern World
Comparative Theology
Comparative Theology
Religion and Film
Religion and Film
Islam and Interreligious Dialogue
Islam and Interreligious Dialogue
First Year Seminar: Islam and the Building of America
First Year Seminar: Islam and the Building of America
Articles (13)
Toward a Muslim Theology of Migration
Palgrave MacMillan2014 “Toward a Muslim Theology of Migration”, a chapter in Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan, Editors, Theology of Migration in the Abrahamic Religions. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 173-186.
Religious Diversity and Public Education: The Example of American Muslims
Routledge2013 “Religious Diversity and Public Education: The Example of American Muslims”, a chapter in Vincent F. Biondo III and Andrew Fiala, Editors, Civility, Religious Pluralism, and Education. New York: Routledge, pp. 193-203.
Confronting Misoislamia: Teaching Religion and Violence in Courses on Islam
Oxford University Press2012 “Confronting Misoislamia: Teaching Religion and Violence in Courses on Islam”, a chapter in Brian K. Pennington, Editor, Teaching Religion and Violence. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 118-148.
Muslims
University of Toronto Press2012 Amir Hussain and Jamie S. Scott, “Muslims”, a chapter in Jamie S. Scott, Editor, The Religions of Canadians. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 167-218.
Muslims and Sexual Diversity in North America
University of British Columbia Press2011 Momin Rahman and Amir Hussain, “Muslims and Sexual Diversity in North America”, a chapter in David Rayside and Clyde Wilcox, Editors, Faith, Politics and Sexual Diversity in Canada and the United States. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, pp. 255-274.
Images of Muhammad in literature, art, and music
Cambridge University Press2010 “Images of Muhammad in literature, art, and music”, a chapter in Jonathan E. Brockopp, Editor, The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 274-292.
(Re)presenting: Muslims on North American Television
Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life2010 “(Re)presenting: Muslims on North American Television”, an article in Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life, Vol. 4, No. 1, April, pp. 55-75.
Islam
Routledge2009 “Islam”, a chapter in John Lyden, Editor, The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film. London: Routledge, pp. 131-140.
The Fire Next Time’: Sleeper Cell and Muslims on Television Post 9/11
Baylor University Press2009 “‘The Fire Next Time’: Sleeper Cell and Muslims on Television Post 9/11”, a chapter in Diane Winston, Editor, Small Screen / Big Picture: Television and Lived Religion. Waco: Baylor University Press, pp. 153-170.
Islam in the Plural
Institute of Ismaili Studies2009 “Islam in the Plural”, a chapter in Amyn Sajoo, Editor, A Companion to the Muslim World. London: Institute of Ismaili Studies, pp. 87-105.
Listen to the Dark’: Death and Dying in Music, Film and Literature
Oxford University Press2008 “‘Listen to the Dark’: Death and Dying in Music, Film and Literature”, a chapter in Christopher M. Moreman, Editor, Teaching Death and Dying. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 213-226.
From Tolerance to Dialogue: A Muslim perspective on interfaith dialogue with Christians
Asian Christian Review2008 “From Tolerance to Dialogue: A Muslim perspective on interfaith dialogue with Christians”, an article in Asian Christian Review, Vol. 2, Nos. 2 & 3, Summer/Winter, pp. 85-97.
The Diaspora in the West
Routledge2008 “The Diaspora in the West”, a chapter in Andrew Rippin, Editor, The Islamic World. London: Routledge, pp. 131-142.
