Welcome to Part Four of the project “Interviewing Religion,” where I interview scholars of Middle Eastern religions about their research, discuss how their work connects to broader public issues, and ask for suggestions for further reading. A huge thank you to the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Luce Foundation, who supported my work with one of their Advancing Public Scholarship Grants. I couldn’t have launched this project without their assistance.
For my fourth interview, I’m excited to introduce Dr. Younus Y. Mirza. Mirza is a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University and the Founding Director of Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He received his Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His current research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur’an and the shared stories between them. Mirza
is a co-author of the book The Bible and the Qur’an: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition and has published in a variety of journals including Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and the Journal of Qur’anic Studies. I find his work on the Islamic Mary particularly fascinating and I think you will too.
I recently spoke to Mirza, who graciously answered a few questions about his research and publications. I encourage you to get a copy of his book, read his other work, and check out the great resources he mentions here.
