Malise Walter Maitland Knox Hore-Ruthven (born 14 May 1942) is an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1942, he earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, before working as a scriptwriter with the BBC Arabic and World Service, and a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs. He earned his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in Social and Political Sciences at the

. Having pursued a career as a writer,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, he focuses his work on

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguish ...

, and especially

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic affairs.

Writer

As a writer, he wrote: * ''Islam in the World'' (OUP, 1984, 1991, 2006) * ''Torture: The Grand Conspiracy'' (Weidenfeld, 1978) * ''Cairo'' (Time-Life, 1980) * ''Traveller Through Time: A Photographic Journey with

Freya Stark Dame Freya Madeline Stark (31 January 18939 May 1993), was a British-Italian explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as several autobiographical works and essays ...

'' (Viking, 1986) * ''The Divine Supermarket: Shopping for God in America'' (Chatto & Windus, nominated for the 1989 Thomas Cook Travel Award) * ''A Satanic Affair:

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

and the Wrath of Islam'' (Chatto & Windus, 1989) * ''Islam: A Very Short Introduction'' (OUP, 1997, 2000; this has been published in several languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Polish, Serbo-Croat, Italian, German and Spanish) * ''A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America'' (Granta, 2002) * ''Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning'' (OUP 2004, Dutch and Bulgarian translations) * ''A Historical Atlas of the Islamic World'' (with

Azim Nanji Professor Azim Nanji is a Kenyan-born professor of Islamic studies. From 1998 until 2008, he served as Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, England. At present, he is the Senior Associate Director of the Abbasi Program in Is ...

; OUP/Harvard University Press, 2004; won the 2005 US Middle East Outreach Council Book Award) Ruthven contributed an afterword to the most recent edition of

Albert Hourani Albert Habib Hourani ( ar, ألبرت حبيب حوراني ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. Bac ...

's ''

History of the Arab Peoples ''A History of the Arab Peoples'' is a book written by the British-born Lebanese historian Albert Hourani. The book presents the history of the Arabs from the advent of Islam (although some pre-Islamic history is included) to the late 20th Cent ...

'', bringing that work up to date following Hourani's death. Dr Ruthven is internationally recognised for his work on Muslim thought and theology, fundamentalism,

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects o ...

, the social impact of religion and migration and the nexus between contemporary politics and belief.

Journalist

Malise Ruthven's book reviews have appeared in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', '' Prospect Magazine'' and ''The

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

'' (NYR). His blog for the NYR, ''Revolution by Latrine'', won an award from the Overseas Press Club of America in April 2011. He is a regular contributor to the NYR, where he has written articles and reviews on such topics as

Al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

Islam in Europe Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed recently, there are centuries-old Muslim societies in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and Volga region. The ...

, unanswered questions in the

Lockerbie crash Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boe ...

and the repression of

gay people in Iran Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Iran face severe legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sexual activity between members of the same sex is illegal and can be punishable by up to death, and people can l ...

. He also contributes occasionally to the BBC. He used the term " Islamofascism" as early as 8 September 1990 in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. In 2004, London's ''Prospect Magazine'' ranked Ruthven among the 100 top public intellectuals in the UK.

Teacher

He has taught Islamic studies, cultural history and comparative religion at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, Scotland,

Birkbeck College, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £109 ...

, UC-San Diego,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

(New Hampshire, USA) and Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA)Malise Ruthven's profile at Oxford University Press website
He has given numerous lectures as an expert on the Middle East. He has been described by Madeleine Bunting for The Guardian as "one of today's most perceptive observers and historians of religion".

Family

Malise Ruthven is the younger son of

Patrick Hore-Ruthven The Hon. Alexander Hardinge Patrick Hore-Ruthven (30 August 1913 – 24 December 1942) was a British soldier and poet. He was born in Quetta, British India (present-day Pakistan), the sole surviving child of Alexander Hore-Ruthven and Zara Eil ...

and Pamela Margaret Fletcher. His elder brother was the

Grey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie Alexander Patrick Greysteil Hore-Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie, (26 November 1939 – 24 September 2021), usually known as Grey Gowrie or Lord Gowrie, was an Irish-born British hereditary peer, politician, and businessman. Lord Gowrie was also ...

and

Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, (; 6 July 1872 – 2 May 1955) was a British Army officer who served as the 10th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1936 to 1945. He was previously Governor ...

, was his grandfather. He is the godson of the late Dame

, whom his parents knew in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

in 1942; Ruthven published several collections of Stark's photographs.

Publications

;Books * ''Torture: The Grand Conspiracy'' (1978). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. * ''Traveller Through Time: A Photographic Journey with Freya Stark'' (1986). London: Viking. * ''The Divine Supermarket: Travels in Search of the Soul of America'' (1989). London: Chatto. * ''A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Rage of Islam'' (1990). London: Chatto. * ''Freya Stark in the Levant: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine'' (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing * ''Freya Stark in Iraq and Kuwait'' (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing * ''Freya Stark in Persia'' (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing * ''Islam: A Very Short Introduction'' (2000). Oxford: Oxford University Press. * ''Fury for God: the Islamist Attack on America'' (2002). London: Granta. * ''Fundamentalism: the Search for Meaning'' (2004). Oxford: Oxford University Press. * ''Historical Atlas of the Islamic World'' (2004). (with Azim Nanji). Oxford: Oxford University Press. * ''Islam in the World'' (1984, 1999, 2006). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ;Articles * ;Recorded lectures
Gnostic themes in the Abrahamic family of religions
Malise Ruthven,

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, Middle East Now podcast series, April to September 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthven, Malise 1942 births Living people Irish educators Irish scholars and academics Writers from Dublin (city) Irish people of British descent Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Malise