Ali Sultaan Asani (born 1954 in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...

) is a Kenyan-American academic. He is Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard University. He has served as Director of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as well as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

Background

Asani was born and brought up in a Pakistani Kenyan family in Kenya. He is of Sindhi descent and belongs to the

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

Khoja The Khoja are a caste of Muslims mainly members of the Nizari Ismaʿiliyyah sect of Islam with a minority of followers of Shia Islam originating the western Indian subcontinent, and converted to Islam from Hinduism by the 14th century by the Pe ...

community.

Academic career

After completing his high-school education in Kenya, he attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, graduating in 1977 summa cum laude in the Comparative Study of Religion. He continued his graduate work at Harvard in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) specializing in Indo-Muslim Culture, and received his Ph.D. in 1984. He was appointed assistant professor of Indo-Muslim Culture in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Department of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and Indian Studies, teaching Urdu-Hindi, Sindhi, Gujarati, and

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

as well as courses on various aspects of the Islamic tradition. He has since been given tenure and appointed Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures in the Committee on the Study of Religion and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He directs NELC's doctoral program in Indo-Muslim Culture. He is the recipient of several awards including the Harvard Foundation Medal for his contributions to improving intercultural and inter-racial relations, the Petra C. Shattuck Prize for teaching, the 2021 Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the 2020 Harvard Foundation Faculty of the Year Award for his efforts at making Harvard College a more inclusive institution.

References

External links

Ali S. Asani details from Harvard University

Bio
on ''thegreatlecturelibrary.com''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Asani, Ali S. 1954 births Living people American Islamic studies scholars American Sindhologists American people of Sindhi descent Kenyan emigrants to the United States Kenyan people of Sindhi descent American Muslims Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty Muslim scholars of Islamic studies Khoja Ismailis American people of Indian descent Kenyan people of Indian descent American Ismailis Kenyan Ismailis Writers from Nairobi