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Dr. Amir Hussain
Professor of Theological Studies
Department of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Suite 3700
Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659, USA
amir.hussain@lmu.edu
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Academic Background
Ph. D., University of Toronto, 2001
M. A., University of Toronto, 1990
B. Sc., University of Toronto, 1987
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Current Areas of Research
Dr. Hussain teaches and publishes about Islam and Muslim lives. His research focuses on Muslim communities in North America. He also teaches about comparative religion and interfaith dialogue.
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Courses Currently Teaching
THST 180: Religions of the World as part of the First Year Institute at LMU
THST 698: Islam and Inter-religious Dialogue
Dr Hussain has also taught:
THST 180: Religions of the World
THST 386: Islam
THST 498: Islam in the Modern World
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Professional Bio
Dr. Amir Hussain is Professor in the Department 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. Although born in Pakistan, Amir immigrated to Canada with his family when he was four. 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. Amir’s PhD dissertation was on Muslim communities in Toronto.
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 (where he is co-chair of the Contemporary Islam consultation, and serves on the steering committee of the Religion in South Asia section). He is on the editorial boards of two scholarly journals, Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life 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 as 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 2008, Amir was chosen by vote of LMU students as the Professor of the Year. Amir’s new book is an introduction to Islam for North Americans entitled Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God (Kelowna: Copper House, 2006). He is currently working on a scholarly book on Islam in Canada entitled Canadian Faces of Islam; and a textbook entitled Muslims: Islam in the West in the 21st Century.
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Selected Publications
2007
- Hussain, Amir and Mahmoud Ayoub, "The Islamic Tradition," a chapter in Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal, Editors, A Concise Introduction to World Religions Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 198 - 257.
2006
- Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God. Kelowna, BC: Wood Lake Books.
- “An Accidental Theologian: Thoughts on Islam in Public and Private Religious Universities”, an article in Cross Currents, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 160—168.
- “Teaching about Hindus and Muslims in the USA: ‘And all they will call you will be deportee,’” a chapter in Edith Chen and Glenn Omatsu, Editors, Teaching about Asian–Pacific Islanders: Effective Activities, Strategies, and Assignments for Classrooms and Communities. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 139—152.
2005
- “Teaching Inside-Out: On Teaching Islam”, an article in Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 248–263. [refereed]
- “Reflections on Exile”, an article in Amerasia Journal, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 17—23.
2004
- “Muslims in Canada: Opportunities and Challenges”, an article in Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, Vol. 33, Nos. 3–4, pp. 359–379. [refereed]
2003
- “This Tremor of Western Wisdom’: A Muslim Response to Human Rights and the Declaration”, in Joseph Runzo, Nancy M. Martin and Arvind Sharma, Editors, Human Rights and Responsibilities in the World Religions. Oxford: Oneworld Press, pp. 169–177. [refereed]
- “Muslims, Pluralism and Interfaith Dialogue”, in Omid Safi, Editor, Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism. Oxford: Oneworld Press, pp. 251–269. [refereed]
2002
- “Misunderstandings and Hurt: How Canadians Joined World-Wide Muslim Reactions to Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses”, in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 70, No. 1, March, pp. 1–32. [refereed]
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Latest News
With Fr. Dorian Llywelyn, Dr. Hussain directed the Lilly Foundation Fellows Program National Research Conference "Convivencia: Religious Identities in the New World", held at Loyola Marymount University, on March 27-29, 2008.
Dr. Hussain and Fr. Llywelyn will also direct the Fall 2008 Bellarmine Forum at Loyola Marymount University, on the same theme.
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Personal Message
“Every year is World Hunger Year until we end world hunger”
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Personal Website
http://myweb.lmu.edu/ahussain/
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Related Websites
Professor Hussain is a Fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities.
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/partners/laih/
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