Theology Department

Jon Armajani

Associate Professor, Department of Theology

B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, Oberlin College; M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary; Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara

Areas of Specialization: Islam, Christianity, and Theory and Method in the Study of Religion

Recently Taught Courses:

Theology 365: Islam and the Judeo-Christian Tradition
Theology 363: Religions of the World
Theology 327: Christian Approaches to Other Religions
Theology 111: The Biblical Tradition

Recent and Forthcoming Publications:

Iran Ascendant: Shiite Islam and Middle East Politics. Current book project.

Islam's Encounter with the West: A History of Modern Islamist Movements. (Tentative title). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, forthcoming.

Co-edited with James E. Lindsay, Historical Dimensions of Islam: Pre-Modern and Modern Periods; Essays in Honor of R. Stephen Humphreys (Princeton, New Jersey: Darwin Press, 2009).

Dynamic Islam: Liberal Muslim Perspectives in a Transnational Age (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group / University Press of America, 2004).

Co-written with James E. Lindsay, "Introduction" in Historical Dimensions of Islam: Pre-Modern and Modern Periods; Essays in Honor of R. Stephen Humphreys.

"Reconstructed Sacred Histories in Modern Islamic and Christian Religio-Political Movements" in Historical Dimensions of Islam: Pre-Modern and Modern Periods; Essays in Honor of R. Stephen Humphreys.

Encyclopedia articles entitled "Arkoun, Mohammed;" "Gospel;" "Islamic Calendar;" "Islamism;" "Jahiliyya;" "Jesus;" "John the Baptist;" "Joseph;" "Mernissi, Fatima;" "Murjia;" "Names of God;" "Rahman, Fazlur;" "Shirk;" "Suffering;" and "Taqwa" in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Juan E. Campo, editor (New York: Checkmark Books, 2009).

Book Review of Miroslav Volf, Ghazi bin Muhammad, and Melissa Yarrington (editors), A Common Word: On Loving God and Neighbor (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 2010) in the special issue of the Journal for Peace and Justice Studies entitled "Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation in Africa," forthcoming.

Book Review of Christian W. Troll, Dialogue and Difference: Clarity in Christian-Muslim Relations (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2009) in Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, Bulletin 85, July 2010.

Book Review of Charles E. Farhadian (editor). Christian Worship Worldwide: Expanding Horizons, Deepening Practices (Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cambridge UK: William B. Eerdman Publishing Company, 2007) in Worship 82, no. 3 (May 2008): 287-288.

Book Review of Tariq Modood, Anna Triandafyllidou, and Ricard Zapata-Barrero (editors). Multiculturalism, Muslims, and Citizenship: A European Approach. (London and New York: Routledge, 2006) in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 27, no. 2 (2007): 479-480.

Book Review of Tariq Ramadan's Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford, UK and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) and Anouar Majid's Freedom and Orthodoxy: Islam and Difference in The Post-Andalusian Age (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2004) in The Middle East Journal 59, no. 1 (Winter 2005): 158-161.

Encyclopedia article entitled "Fundamentalism" in Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expressions, edited by Gary Laderman and Luis León, vol. 2, 501-505 (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2003).

Recent Presentations:

"God and Prophets in Islam," The Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2010.

"Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations" for the Saint Cloud Ecumenical Commission at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota; May 15, 2009.

Panel Presentation entitled "Three Christian Approaches to Other Religions." This panel was sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict's Koch Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture. College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, March 30, 2009.

"Islam, Muslims, and Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in the United States," a lecture which was part of a Lenten speaker series entitled, Who Is My Neighbor? Church of Saint Joseph (Roman Catholic); Saint Joseph, Minnesota, February 2008.

"Al-Qaida and Modern Islamic History" on the panel "Traditionalizing Change: Islam in the Contemporary World" at the annual conference entitled "Life and Politics in the Middle East," which is sponsored by the journal Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, Hamline University, April 21, 2007.

"Sunnis, Shiites, and the War in Iraq" at the Spring Dinner of the Board of Overseers of the Saint John's School of Theology·Seminary, Wayzata Country Club, Wayzata, Minnesota, May 2007.

"Islam and Democracy in Contemporary Iran" on the panel "Religion, Society and Politics in Iran" at the Fall 2006 Peace Studies Conference entitled "Islam and Peace," College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, September 18, 2006.

"Muslim Views of Veiling" as part of the panel "Living Faithfully: Ethics for a Searching People" in the series "Pathways to God: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam," University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, April 2006.

"What is Islam?" Lectures delivered as part of the St. John's School of Theology·Seminary's Theology Day Series at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Saint John's School of Theology·Seminary; July, August, and September 2005.

Service to the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University:

Phi Beta Kappa, Theta of Minnesota chapter at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Islamic Studies Task Force
Asian Studies Committee
Joint Faculty Assembly's Academic Planning and Budget Committee
Department of Theology's Academic Assessment Committee
Chair, Assessment Subcommittee for the Advanced Seminar in Theology
Inauguration Committee for the inauguration of Dr. MaryAnn Baenninger as the President of the College of Saint Benedict
Learning Through Difference Learning Community

Research and Professional Appointments:

Member of the Advisory Board, Center for the Study of Democracy, Saint Mary's College of Maryland, Saint Mary's City, Maryland
Resident Scholar, Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1997-1998
Research Fellow, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, 1991-1992