Prof Asghar Ali Engineer

Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, India

India and Pluralism: After the Mumbai Bombings

Bio

Asghar Ali Engineer is a noted Islamic Scholar who has been trained in tafsir (commentary on Quran) and hadith (Prophet's sayings) and Islamic jurisprudence. He has more than 40 books to his credit. Some of the titles are: The Origin and Development of Islam, Islam and Its Relevance to Our Age, The Islamic State, Rights of Women in Islam, Sufism and Communal Harmony, Islam in South and South East Asia etc.

He has lectured in various universities in USA, Canada, Europe, South and South East Asia, Australia etc. He holds liberal, rational views on Islam. He also is known internationally for his work on liberation theology in Islam. He has also written on Islam and human rights and has written a paper on "Developing Theology of Peace in Islam" besides on "The Concept of Compassion in Islam" He has also published a book on Rational Approach to Islam which has been highly acclaimed by scholars and laymen alike. He is the founding Chairman of AMAN (Asian Muslim Action Network) which promotes human rights and inter-faith understanding Asia-wide. He has been conducting workshops for young Muslims to orient them towards human rights and inter-faith understanding. He is director of Institute of Islamic Studies which promotes research and studies from human rights perspective and promotes peace and non-violence. Pr. Engineer is an advocate of culture of peace and non-violence. Also, he is no mere theoretician, but an activist who is actively promoting these values.

Pr Engineer holds secular and democratic values. He has been given various awards for his services in the fields of secularism, and for promoting communal harmony and peace in society. The Govt. of India gave him Communal Harmony Award in 1997. He is also the recipient of the prestigious R.B. Joshi inter-faith award, besides Leaders Award by a Christian organisation in Tamil Nadu. He was conferred D.Litt. by Calcutta University in 1993 for his work on communal harmony.