Akbar Ahmed

Akbar Ahmed
Ahmed in 2016
Born
Allahabad, British India[1]
EducationArmy Burn Hall College, University of Cambridge, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
OccupationScholar
WebsiteOfficial website

Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, is a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat.[2][3] He currently is a professor of International Relations and holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University, School of International Service in Washington, D.C.[2][3][4] Akbar Ahmed served as the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland. He currently is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Immediately prior, he taught at Princeton University and served as a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.[2][3][5] He also taught at Harvard University and was a visiting scholar at the Department of Anthropology.[5][6][7] Ahmed was the First Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.[2][5] In 2004 Ahmed was named District of Columbia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.[3] A former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, Ahmed was a member of the Civil Service of Pakistan and served as Political Agent in South Waziristan Agency and Commissioner in Baluchistan.[2][8][5] He also served as the Iqbal Fellow (Chair of Pakistan Studies) at the University of Cambridge.[2][8][5] An anthropologist and scholar of Islam. He completed his MA at Cambridge University and received his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.[2][5] He has been called "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC.[8][9][10][11]

Ahmed received the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) and Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) from the Pakistani government for academic distinction and the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in London.[3][12] He was also awarded the inaugural Purpose Prize in 2006 alongside Judea Pearl[8] and is frequently named in the annual book, The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims,[13] and was named a 2015 Global Thought Leader by The World Post and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.

  1. ^ "Akbar Ahmed". The Globalist. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference Nader362 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference AhmedForstxiixiii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Watson219 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Bennett31 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference AhmedHart331 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Peabody3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Ahmede133 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "American university honours Dr Akbar Ahmed with 'Teacher of the Year' award". Pakistan Today. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. ^ Takar, Nafees (23 September 2015). "Islam, Identity and the West: A Conversation With Ambassador Akbar Ahmed".
  11. ^ "Pakistani-American professor wins 'teacher of the year' award - The Express Tribune". 15 May 2017.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference WignarajaHussain359 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Ahmed, Dr Akbar | The Muslim 500". themuslim500.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.