Omid Safi

Omid Safi is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he specializes on Islamic mysticism (Sufism), contemporary Islamic thought, and medieval Islamic history. He received his PhD from Duke University in 2000. Before coming to UNC, he was an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Safi is the Chair for the Study of Islam at the American Academy of Religion. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. His book The Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam, dealing with medieval Islamic history and politics, was published in 2006. His translation and analysis of Rumi’s biography is forthcoming from Fons Vitae, and his book Memories of Muhammad will be published in Winter of 2009 by HarperOne. Safi has been at the forefront of the progressive Muslim debate. His book Progressive Muslims, published in 2003, contains a diverse collection of essays by and about “progressive” Muslims. He was one of the cofounders of the Progressive Muslim Union (PMU-NA). Safi resigned from PMU in 2005, but he continues to support progressive interpretations of Islam outside of PMU.