Khaleel Mohammed

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Khaleel Mohammed is associate professor of Religion at San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California, and a core faculty member of SDSU's Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies.

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[edit] Background

Mohammed completed high school at 15, and has studied in Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Syria, and Yemen, at both traditional Islamic institutions and Western universities. After a bachelor's degree in Religion and Psychology (Mexico), and a brief stint in the Canadian Army, he received a Saudi government scholarship and studied at the Kulliyat al-Shariah, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, in Riyadh. Upon his return to Canada, he received numerous fellowships and awards, completing an M.A. in religion (majoring in Judaism and Islam, Concordia University), and then his Ph.D. (Islamic law) at McGill University, with an FCAR (Fonds pour les chercheurs et aide a la recherché) fellowship from the Government of Quebec.[1]

[edit] Specialties & research interests

Mohammed's specialties are Islam, Islamic Law, and Comparative Religion. His research interests include Islamic and Arabic studies, Islamic law (classical and modern), comparative religion, Jewish/Christian/Islamic encounter, Qur'anic exegesis (classical and modern), hadith, gender/sex issues and sexuality in Islam, terrorism, antisemitism in Islam, Arab-Israeli relations, and reform in Islam.

Mohammed teaches courses on World Religions, The Qur'an, Religious Violence and Non-Violence Syllabus, and Sex and Gender in Islam.[2]

[edit] Teachings on Israel belonging to the Jews, according to the Qur'an

Mohammed attracted attention for a 2004 interview in which he stated that sura 5 verse 21 of the Qur'an, and the medieval exegetes of the Qur'an, say that Israel belongs to the Jews. He translates it thus:

[Moses said]: 'O my people! Enter the Holy Land which God has written for you, and do not turn tail, otherwise you will be losers.'

Mohammed here understands "written" to mean this is the final word from God on the subject. In reaction, he was inundated with hate mail.[3]

He also stated that "95% of contemporary Muslims are exposed to anti-Semitic teachings [beginning] ... between the ages of 5-8. And we know that things learned at this stage of life become ingrained, almost to the point of being in one's DNA."[4]

[edit] Publications

[edit] Referenced Journal Articles

  • “Assessing English Translations of the Qur’an,” Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2005, Volume XII (2): 59-72.
  • “Revisiting Tyan on the issue of the Early Islamic Judicature” Islamic Studies, Autumn 2004 (3): 447-55.
  • “Muslim Exegesis, the Hadith and the Jews” Judaism, #209/210 (53) Winter-Spring 2004: 3-11.
  • “A Muslim Perspective on Human Rights,” Social Science and Modern Society (Volume 41, #2), January/February 2004: 29-35.
  • “Probing the Identity of the Sacrificial Son in the Qur’an,” Journal of Religion and Culture (13), 1999, Concordia University: 125-38.
  • “The Foundations of the Muslim Prayer.” Medieval Encounters (5), March 1999, E.J.Brill: 17-28.
  • “Demonizing the Jew: Examining the Antichrist Traditions in the Sahihayn.” Co-author: Professor Kadir Baksh. Journal of Religion and Culture (12) 1998, Concordia University: 151-64.
  • “Abraham Geiger and Heinrich Graetz: A Comparison of their Different Perspectives on Jewish History,” Journal of Religion and Culture (11) 1997, Concordia University: 141-60.
  • “The Concept of Abrogation in the Qur’an.” Published under the culturally arabized version of his name, Allama Dr. Abu Yusuf Khaleel Al-Corentini. Journal of Religion and Culture (10) 1996, Concordia University: 63-76.
  • The Jewish and Christian Influences in the Eschatological Imagery of Sahih Muslim, published Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1997, under his full name: Khaleelul Iqbal Mohammed".

[edit] Chapters in Books

  • “The Identity of the Qur’an’s Ahl al-Dhikr,” in Coming to Terms with the Qur’an. Ed. by Andrew Rippin and Khaleel Mohammed. Forthcoming. Islamic Publications INternational.
  • “Islam and Human Rights,” in Religion and Human Rights, ed. Adam Seligman. Interreligious Center on Public Life, Hollis Publishing: 2004: 55-68.
  • “Al-Rida's Argumentation Against the Leaders of the People of the Book, the Magians, the Sabeans and Others (excerpted from Al-Istibsar). Translated as chapter for Theology of Shi‘ism: A Debate Between Imam Ali Rida and People of Other Beliefs. Ed. By Saeed Argomand. Global Publications, State University of New York, Binghamton, 1999.

[edit] Translations

  • World of Our Youth. Translation of Husayn Fadlallah’s Duniya al-Shabab. Montreal, Damascus and Beirut: Organization for Advancement of Islamic Knowledge, Montreal, 1998.

BOOK REVIEWS/ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES

  • “Sex, Sexuality and Family in the Qur’an” Encyclopedia Article for Blackwell Encyclopedia of the Qur’an. Ed. Andrew Rippin. 2006.
  • “A New Introduction to Islam,” by Daniel Brown. Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin, 38 (1), June 2004: 78-79.
  • “An Introduction to Islam,” by David Waines. Middle East Quarterly, XI (3), Summer 2004: 86.
  • “Islam Under Siege,” by Akbar Ahmed. In Islamic Studies, Spring 2004 (Volume 43/1): 132-35.
  • “Excellence and Precedence,” by Asma Afsaruddin. H-Mideast-Medieval, H-Net Reviews, 2004. Available online on the H-Net Web site.
  • “The Qur’an-A Contemporary Translation,” by Ahmed Ali. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Volume. XXXVI (1) Summer 2002: 47. Article also available online at on the Arizona.edu Web site.
  • “The Koran: A Very Short Introduction,” by Michael Cook. H-Mideast-Medieval, H-Net Reviews, February 2003. Available also available online on the H-Net Web site. Electronically Accessible Publications
  • "Produce your proof: Muslim exegesis, the Hadith, and the Jews." Published: Spring 2004.

[edit] External links