Event Details:

Modern Muslim Theology

Martin Nguyen of Fairfield University

Dr. Martin Nguyen is Associate Professor of Islamic Religious Traditions in the Religious Studies Department, Faculty Chair for Diversity, and Director of the Islamic World Studies Minor Program at Fairfield University. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies and History from the University of Virginia and then went on to earn a Masters of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from the Harvard Divinity School. Following this, he joined the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University where he completed a joint-program Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies and History.

His latest book Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) presents a contemporary theological framework rooted in the practice of the religious imagination. Concerned with cultivating a life of faith and righteousness for the present, the book re-conceptualizes key religious ideas, like revelation, tradition, and prayer, through an array of theological approaches (figurative, historical, narrative, and practical).

His first book Sufi Master and Qur'an Scholar: Abu'l-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata'if al-isharat (Oxford University Press, 2012) explores the confluence of Qur'anic exegesis, theology, and Sufism in the life of al-Qushayri, a prominent mystic and scholar of 5th/11th century Nishapur. In addition, he has published a number of articles and chapters on the Qur'an and its interpretation, Muslim theology, Islamic spirituality, pedagogy, and issues of race.

He serves on the editorial board of the journal Teaching Theology and Religion and is a  contributor to the Wabash Center's blog "Teaching Islam."  In his hometown of Stratford, he is involved with a community activist group called Stratford CARE (Citizens Addressing Racial Equity) where he is establishing "Stratford CARE Story Share," a town-wide oral history project.