Liyakat Takim

Ph.D., School of Oriental & African Studies (London). Dr. Takim is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies. His research interests center on the historical development of juridical and theological literature in the Classical period of Islam, as well as on Shi'i biographical literature. Dr. Takim is a native speaker of English, Swahili, and Gujarati; his research languages include Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. His publications include three translations: Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi's Ask Those Who Know: An Exposition of the Shi'ite Creed (Hydery Press, 1995); Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi's Questions of Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study of Muslim Ritual Practices (Hydery Press, 1996); and Ziyarat Guide: Selected Supplications (Hydery Press, 2000).

His Ph.D. dissertation "Dissention and the Struggle for Authority in Shi'i Biographical Literature" has been revised and published under the title The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Shi'ite Islam (SUNY Press, 2006). In addition, he is involved in a joint research project entitled "Muslims in the American Public Square," undertaken for the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. Dr. Takim's teaching interests include courses on Islamic mysticism, classical and contemporary Islam, and Islam in comparative perspective.