Academic Experience and Publications
June 2005–present
* Book Review Editor,
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS)
Courses Taught:
King's University College at the U. of Western Ontario (Present)
• Gender and Islam
• The Islamic Tradition
• The Qur'an
• Islam Today
• Islam at the Cinema
• Love, Wine and Ecstasy: The poetry of Rumi
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan): (2008-2009)
• Muslim women Memoir Writing
• Persian Mystical Literature (Graduate Seminar)
• Iranian Cinema
• Persian Advice Literature (Graduate Seminar)
Colgate University (New York) : (2006-2008)
• The Middle East
• Experiencing Islam
• Gender and Mysticism in Islam (Seminar)
• Islam and Modernity
• Women and Religious Traditions
• Introduction to the Study of Religion
2005-2006
Univ. of Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations:
* Intermediate / Introduction to Persian
* Orientalism and Occidentalism
* Introduction to the Religion of Islam
* 2003–2006
Adjunct Lecturer, University of Toronto, Social Work Department
* 2004–2005
Teaching Assistant, University of Toronto, for courses:
“Medieval Persian Literature,” “The Qur’an,”
“Religion and Culture of Islam,”
“Introduction to the Religion of Islam.”
Publications: (Peer-Reviewed Articles)
2005 “The Hermeneutics of Eroticism in the Poetry of Rumi.” In Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the
Middle East, 25.3 (2005): 600–616.
2006 “Phallocentric Esotericism in a Tale from Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Masnavi-i Ma‘navi." Iranian Studies, 39.1 (2006):
47-70.
2007 "A dialogue: Muhammad Faghfoory and Mahdi Tourage." In Amerian Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24.1 (2007)
(about--the omission of--women in sufism, and the relevance of feminist discourse)
2008 "Textual Body and Body of the Text in a Poem by Simin Behbahani." In Iranian Studies 41.1 (2008), 61-74.
"Written For the West: Reading Three Iranian Women's Memoirs." In American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences
(2008) 25.2
2009 "Fetishizing Dialogue and Commodifying Peacemaking." In American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 26.1
(2009), 136-152.
2011 "The Erotics of Sacrifice in the Qur’anic Tale of Abel and Cain." International Journal of Zizek Studies 5.2 (2011).
“Performing Belief and Reviving Islam: The Function of White Prominent Male Converts in Muslim Revival Conventions.”
Submitted to the Journal of Islamic Studies.
2012 “Subject of Transformation and the Transformation of the Subject in Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Masnavi. Iran Nameh (forthcoming,
January 2012)
Work in Progress:
Article:
"OF God and Ayatollah's: Contemporary Iranian Jokes at the Edge of Popular Epistemologies." To be Submitted to the
International Journal of Iranian Studies (ISIS).
Monograph:
Muslim Men and the “F” Word. This is a work in progress expected to be completed in summer 2013. It is about the relevance of
gender studies and particularly feminism (the equivalent of the “F” word in some circles) to understanding and reconstructing
Muslim masculinities. It is erroneously believed that feminist discourse is only relevant to the concerns of females and possibly
gay and lesbian issues—it is no surprise that (almost) all scholarly treatments of Islamic feminism are authored by women and
homosexual men. This book examines projects of reconstructing Muslim masculinities and male discourse through textual,
doctrinal, and institutional sources of Islam in ways that are not about control and domination. This is not to employ a women’s
discourse to remain its master, but to acknowledge yet undermine the normative false universalities of hegemonic masculine
discourse.
Book Chapter:
“Phallus as an Esoteric Symbol in Sufism,” in Islamic Imagery: Studies in Sacred Symbolism, ed. John Morrow (2013).
Book:
• Rumi and the Hermeneutics of Eroticism. Brill, 2007.
Edited Work:
Guest Editor, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:2, Islam in Higher Education, Summer 2007,
Book Reviews:
2010 On Spirituality: Essays from the Third Shi`i Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue M. Darrol Bryant, Susan Kennel
Harrison and A. James Reimer, eds. Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2010. In American Journal of Islamic Social
Sciences, 27:4 (2010), 114-117.
2010 Psychoanalysis and the challenge of Islam, Fethi Benslama, trans. Robert Bononno. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2009. In The Journal of Contemporary Islam (Nov. 2010).
2006 Beyond Violence: Religious Sources of Social Transformation in Judaism, Christianity, And Islam. James L. Heft, S.M. In
The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23.1 (2006).
2005 Fundamentals of Rumi’s Thought: A Mevlevi Sufi Perspective. Sefik Can. In The American Journal of Islamic Social
Sciences 22.2 (2005): 119–121.
2004 Kernel of the Kernel, Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual Journey of the People of Intellect: A Shī‘ī Approach to
Sufism, Sayyid Mohammad Husayn Husayni Tihrani, trans. Mohammad Faghfoory. In The American Journal of Islamic
Social Sciences 21.2 (2004): 134–136.
Conference Presentations and Invited Papers
2010 “Humor in Medieval Islam." Medieval Studies Society of the Royal Ontario Museum 5th Annual Symposium
March 27th, Toronto, Ontario.
"Of God and Ayatollahs: Theological Implications of Contemporary Iranian Jokes." Invited paper, Glendon College Annual
Symposium – Journey Through Contemporary Iran, March 6, Gelndon College, Toronto, Ontario.
"Of God and Ayatollahs: Theological Implication of Contemporary
Iranian Jokes." International Society for Iranian Studies Biennial
Conference, May 27-30, Santa Monica, CA.
"The Erotics of Sacrifice in the Quranic Tale of Abel and Cain.
" American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region
Ottawa, Ontario, May 7-8.
"Eros and Sacrifice in the Qur’an: Reading Cain’s Murder of Abel through the works of Bataille and Lacan." 3rd Biennial
International Multidisciplinary Conference -- The Human Condition Series -- EROS 2010. May 21-22 Nippising University Muskoka
Campus, Bracebridge, Ontario.
"The (Veiled) Phallus and the Erotics of Sacrifice in the Qur’anic Tale of Abel and Cain." Veiled Constellations: The Veil, Critical
Theory, Politics, and Contemporary Society, June 3-5, York University, Toronto, Ontario.
2008 "The Gender of Creativity: Toward a Comparative Typology of Mystical Experiences." Presented at the Seventh Biennial
Conference on Iranian Studies, July 31-Aug. 3, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
"Humor and Subversion in Persian Sufi Poetry." Presented at University of Michigan, The Center for Middle Eastern and North
African Studies, Oct. 2008.
2007 "The Shi‘i Messianic Imperative and the Nuclear Bomb: Ahmadinejad’s Nuclear Ambition in the Context of Iran’s Shi‘i
Popular Culture." Presented at the American Academy of Religion--Eastern International Regional Meeting May 4-5, 2007.
University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo , ON , Canada.
"Psychoanalysis and Sufism: Reinterpreting Esoteric Secrets of Sufi Texts Through Freud’s “Dream Work.” Presented at the
Theoretical Psychology Beyond Borders: Transdisciplinarity and Internationalization. Annual conference of The International
Society for Theoretical Psychology (ISTP). June 18-22, 2007, York University, Toronto.
“Visions of Esoteric Secrets in Two Miniature Paintings of the Mathnawī’s Bawdy Tales.” Presented at: Wonderous Words: The
Poetics of Jalal al-Din Rumi 13-15 September 2007, Iran Heritage and British Museum, London, UK.
“The Efficacy of Lacan's Theory of Signification as a New Approach to the Hermeneutics of Sufi Texts.” Presented at: Lacanian
Perspective on (A)Theology: "The Triumph of Religion," 19-20 September 2007, Radbout University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
“Rumi and the Hermeneutics of Eroticism.” Presented at International Conference on Rumi, September 28-30, 2007. University of
Maryland's Center for Persian Studies (CPS).
“Sufism and Transformation of the Subject.” Invited paper presented at: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, Oct. 25, 2007.
“The Power of Words: The Masnavi as the Transformative Elixir.” Invited paper, Simon Fraser University’s Mystifying Rumi, Oct.
26-27, 2007.
“Zabn-e Dil or Sufism as the Language of Civilizational Dialogue.” To be presented at: Alternative Dialogues on Culture and
Civilization: Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi n 21st Century, . Nov. 3-4 2007, Michigan State University.
“The Pitfalls of Inter-Religious Transnational Dialogue: The Case of the Mennonites’-Imam Khomeini Education and Research
Institute.” To be presented at: The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) 3rd Canadian Regional Conference, Wilfred
Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada, November 24, 2007
2006 “Monotheism in Phallocentric Terms, Kabbalistic Readings of Persian Mystical Texts.” Presented at the American Academy
of Religion Annual Meeting, Nov. 18–21, 2006, Washington, DC.
“Muslims Imagining the West Imagining Muslims: Constructing the Other across the Religious-Cultural Divide.” Invited Paper at
the United States Naval Academy, Oct 20, 2006.
“Negotiating Shi‘i Identities in a Messianic Age: Ahmadinejad, Mahdaviyyat, and the Quest for Nuclear Power.” Presented at the
American Muslim Social Scientists 35th Annual Conference, Oct 27–29, Hartford Seminary, Hartford CT. Theme of the conference
“Muslim Identities: Shifting Boundaries and dialogue.”
“Life in the Medieval City: Representations of Daily Life in Medieval Persian Miniature Paintings.” Presented at the First Annual
Symposium of the Friends of the Medieval Studies Society of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada, March 25, 2006.
The Subject of Bawdy and the Body of the Subject: Evaluating the Context of Rumi’s Masnavi through Scriptural Reasoning.”
Presented at the American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Regional Meeting. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, May 5–6,
2006. Conference Theme: Points of Contact.
“The Subject of Gaze in Medieval Persian Miniature Paintings of Mystical Texts.” Presented at the Canadian Society for the Study
of Religion, Annual Conference 2006, York University, Toronto, Ontario, May 28–31, 2006. \ Conference theme: The City: A Festival
of Knowledge.
“Theorizing the Omitted Other: Scriptural Reasoning at the Margins of Persian Mystical Texts.” Presented at the Sixth Biennial
Conference on Iranian Studies. London, England, July 30 – August 2, 2006.
2005 The Vulgar and the Esoteric in Medieval Perso-Islamic Literature.” Presented at the Symposium “Religion and the
Forbidden.” Department and Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, April 2005.
“Gender Identity in the Masnavi of Rumi.” Presented at the conference “The Poetic Imagination of Jalal al-Din
Rumi, 1207–1273.” Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Feb. 2005.
2004 “Gender of Memory, Body of Secrecy: The Erotics of Re/Membering and Re/Inscribing the Bodies in the Mathnawi of Rūmī.”
Presented at the Canadian Regional Conference of American Muslim Social Scientists, Department of Political Science, University
of Toronto, Nov. 27, 20004. Theme: Decoding Politics, Gender and Culture in Epistemologies and Praxis.
“The ‘Other’ in Medieval Persian Mystical Poetry: Mystical Sado-Masochism or the Dialectics of Love?” Presented at the Graduate
Students Symposium, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, April 2004.
June 2005–present
* Book Review Editor,
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS)
Courses Taught:
King's University College at the U. of Western Ontario (Present)
• Gender and Islam
• The Islamic Tradition
• The Qur'an
• Islam Today
• Islam at the Cinema
• Love, Wine and Ecstasy: The poetry of Rumi
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan): (2008-2009)
• Muslim women Memoir Writing
• Persian Mystical Literature (Graduate Seminar)
• Iranian Cinema
• Persian Advice Literature (Graduate Seminar)
Colgate University (New York) : (2006-2008)
• The Middle East
• Experiencing Islam
• Gender and Mysticism in Islam (Seminar)
• Islam and Modernity
• Women and Religious Traditions
• Introduction to the Study of Religion
2005-2006
Univ. of Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations:
* Intermediate / Introduction to Persian
* Orientalism and Occidentalism
* Introduction to the Religion of Islam
* 2003–2006
Adjunct Lecturer, University of Toronto, Social Work Department
* 2004–2005
Teaching Assistant, University of Toronto, for courses:
“Medieval Persian Literature,” “The Qur’an,”
“Religion and Culture of Islam,”
“Introduction to the Religion of Islam.”
Publications: (Peer-Reviewed Articles)
2005 “The Hermeneutics of Eroticism in the Poetry of Rumi.” In Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the
Middle East, 25.3 (2005): 600–616.
2006 “Phallocentric Esotericism in a Tale from Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Masnavi-i Ma‘navi." Iranian Studies, 39.1 (2006):
47-70.
2007 "A dialogue: Muhammad Faghfoory and Mahdi Tourage." In Amerian Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24.1 (2007)
(about--the omission of--women in sufism, and the relevance of feminist discourse)
2008 "Textual Body and Body of the Text in a Poem by Simin Behbahani." In Iranian Studies 41.1 (2008), 61-74.
"Written For the West: Reading Three Iranian Women's Memoirs." In American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences
(2008) 25.2
2009 "Fetishizing Dialogue and Commodifying Peacemaking." In American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 26.1
(2009), 136-152.
2011 "The Erotics of Sacrifice in the Qur’anic Tale of Abel and Cain." International Journal of Zizek Studies 5.2 (2011).
“Performing Belief and Reviving Islam: The Function of White Prominent Male Converts in Muslim Revival Conventions.”
Submitted to the Journal of Islamic Studies.
2012 “Subject of Transformation and the Transformation of the Subject in Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Masnavi. Iran Nameh (forthcoming,
January 2012)
Work in Progress:
Article:
"OF God and Ayatollah's: Contemporary Iranian Jokes at the Edge of Popular Epistemologies." To be Submitted to the
International Journal of Iranian Studies (ISIS).
Monograph:
Muslim Men and the “F” Word. This is a work in progress expected to be completed in summer 2013. It is about the relevance of
gender studies and particularly feminism (the equivalent of the “F” word in some circles) to understanding and reconstructing
Muslim masculinities. It is erroneously believed that feminist discourse is only relevant to the concerns of females and possibly
gay and lesbian issues—it is no surprise that (almost) all scholarly treatments of Islamic feminism are authored by women and
homosexual men. This book examines projects of reconstructing Muslim masculinities and male discourse through textual,
doctrinal, and institutional sources of Islam in ways that are not about control and domination. This is not to employ a women’s
discourse to remain its master, but to acknowledge yet undermine the normative false universalities of hegemonic masculine
discourse.
Book Chapter:
“Phallus as an Esoteric Symbol in Sufism,” in Islamic Imagery: Studies in Sacred Symbolism, ed. John Morrow (2013).
Book:
• Rumi and the Hermeneutics of Eroticism. Brill, 2007.
Edited Work:
Guest Editor, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:2, Islam in Higher Education, Summer 2007,
Book Reviews:
2010 On Spirituality: Essays from the Third Shi`i Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue M. Darrol Bryant, Susan Kennel
Harrison and A. James Reimer, eds. Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2010. In American Journal of Islamic Social
Sciences, 27:4 (2010), 114-117.
2010 Psychoanalysis and the challenge of Islam, Fethi Benslama, trans. Robert Bononno. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2009. In The Journal of Contemporary Islam (Nov. 2010).
2006 Beyond Violence: Religious Sources of Social Transformation in Judaism, Christianity, And Islam. James L. Heft, S.M. In
The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23.1 (2006).
2005 Fundamentals of Rumi’s Thought: A Mevlevi Sufi Perspective. Sefik Can. In The American Journal of Islamic Social
Sciences 22.2 (2005): 119–121.
2004 Kernel of the Kernel, Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual Journey of the People of Intellect: A Shī‘ī Approach to
Sufism, Sayyid Mohammad Husayn Husayni Tihrani, trans. Mohammad Faghfoory. In The American Journal of Islamic
Social Sciences 21.2 (2004): 134–136.
Conference Presentations and Invited Papers
2010 “Humor in Medieval Islam." Medieval Studies Society of the Royal Ontario Museum 5th Annual Symposium
March 27th, Toronto, Ontario.
"Of God and Ayatollahs: Theological Implications of Contemporary Iranian Jokes." Invited paper, Glendon College Annual
Symposium – Journey Through Contemporary Iran, March 6, Gelndon College, Toronto, Ontario.
"Of God and Ayatollahs: Theological Implication of Contemporary
Iranian Jokes." International Society for Iranian Studies Biennial
Conference, May 27-30, Santa Monica, CA.
"The Erotics of Sacrifice in the Quranic Tale of Abel and Cain.
" American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region
Ottawa, Ontario, May 7-8.
"Eros and Sacrifice in the Qur’an: Reading Cain’s Murder of Abel through the works of Bataille and Lacan." 3rd Biennial
International Multidisciplinary Conference -- The Human Condition Series -- EROS 2010. May 21-22 Nippising University Muskoka
Campus, Bracebridge, Ontario.
"The (Veiled) Phallus and the Erotics of Sacrifice in the Qur’anic Tale of Abel and Cain." Veiled Constellations: The Veil, Critical
Theory, Politics, and Contemporary Society, June 3-5, York University, Toronto, Ontario.
2008 "The Gender of Creativity: Toward a Comparative Typology of Mystical Experiences." Presented at the Seventh Biennial
Conference on Iranian Studies, July 31-Aug. 3, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
"Humor and Subversion in Persian Sufi Poetry." Presented at University of Michigan, The Center for Middle Eastern and North
African Studies, Oct. 2008.
2007 "The Shi‘i Messianic Imperative and the Nuclear Bomb: Ahmadinejad’s Nuclear Ambition in the Context of Iran’s Shi‘i
Popular Culture." Presented at the American Academy of Religion--Eastern International Regional Meeting May 4-5, 2007.
University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo , ON , Canada.
"Psychoanalysis and Sufism: Reinterpreting Esoteric Secrets of Sufi Texts Through Freud’s “Dream Work.” Presented at the
Theoretical Psychology Beyond Borders: Transdisciplinarity and Internationalization. Annual conference of The International
Society for Theoretical Psychology (ISTP). June 18-22, 2007, York University, Toronto.
“Visions of Esoteric Secrets in Two Miniature Paintings of the Mathnawī’s Bawdy Tales.” Presented at: Wonderous Words: The
Poetics of Jalal al-Din Rumi 13-15 September 2007, Iran Heritage and British Museum, London, UK.
“The Efficacy of Lacan's Theory of Signification as a New Approach to the Hermeneutics of Sufi Texts.” Presented at: Lacanian
Perspective on (A)Theology: "The Triumph of Religion," 19-20 September 2007, Radbout University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
“Rumi and the Hermeneutics of Eroticism.” Presented at International Conference on Rumi, September 28-30, 2007. University of
Maryland's Center for Persian Studies (CPS).
“Sufism and Transformation of the Subject.” Invited paper presented at: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, Oct. 25, 2007.
“The Power of Words: The Masnavi as the Transformative Elixir.” Invited paper, Simon Fraser University’s Mystifying Rumi, Oct.
26-27, 2007.
“Zabn-e Dil or Sufism as the Language of Civilizational Dialogue.” To be presented at: Alternative Dialogues on Culture and
Civilization: Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi n 21st Century, . Nov. 3-4 2007, Michigan State University.
“The Pitfalls of Inter-Religious Transnational Dialogue: The Case of the Mennonites’-Imam Khomeini Education and Research
Institute.” To be presented at: The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) 3rd Canadian Regional Conference, Wilfred
Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada, November 24, 2007
2006 “Monotheism in Phallocentric Terms, Kabbalistic Readings of Persian Mystical Texts.” Presented at the American Academy
of Religion Annual Meeting, Nov. 18–21, 2006, Washington, DC.
“Muslims Imagining the West Imagining Muslims: Constructing the Other across the Religious-Cultural Divide.” Invited Paper at
the United States Naval Academy, Oct 20, 2006.
“Negotiating Shi‘i Identities in a Messianic Age: Ahmadinejad, Mahdaviyyat, and the Quest for Nuclear Power.” Presented at the
American Muslim Social Scientists 35th Annual Conference, Oct 27–29, Hartford Seminary, Hartford CT. Theme of the conference
“Muslim Identities: Shifting Boundaries and dialogue.”
“Life in the Medieval City: Representations of Daily Life in Medieval Persian Miniature Paintings.” Presented at the First Annual
Symposium of the Friends of the Medieval Studies Society of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada, March 25, 2006.
The Subject of Bawdy and the Body of the Subject: Evaluating the Context of Rumi’s Masnavi through Scriptural Reasoning.”
Presented at the American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Regional Meeting. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, May 5–6,
2006. Conference Theme: Points of Contact.
“The Subject of Gaze in Medieval Persian Miniature Paintings of Mystical Texts.” Presented at the Canadian Society for the Study
of Religion, Annual Conference 2006, York University, Toronto, Ontario, May 28–31, 2006. \ Conference theme: The City: A Festival
of Knowledge.
“Theorizing the Omitted Other: Scriptural Reasoning at the Margins of Persian Mystical Texts.” Presented at the Sixth Biennial
Conference on Iranian Studies. London, England, July 30 – August 2, 2006.
2005 The Vulgar and the Esoteric in Medieval Perso-Islamic Literature.” Presented at the Symposium “Religion and the
Forbidden.” Department and Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, April 2005.
“Gender Identity in the Masnavi of Rumi.” Presented at the conference “The Poetic Imagination of Jalal al-Din
Rumi, 1207–1273.” Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Feb. 2005.
2004 “Gender of Memory, Body of Secrecy: The Erotics of Re/Membering and Re/Inscribing the Bodies in the Mathnawi of Rūmī.”
Presented at the Canadian Regional Conference of American Muslim Social Scientists, Department of Political Science, University
of Toronto, Nov. 27, 20004. Theme: Decoding Politics, Gender and Culture in Epistemologies and Praxis.
“The ‘Other’ in Medieval Persian Mystical Poetry: Mystical Sado-Masochism or the Dialectics of Love?” Presented at the Graduate
Students Symposium, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, April 2004.
 | |  | |  | |  |
My students and I, last day of class, April 2006. My daughter Layla, sitting
on my lap, visited the class and did her show and tell about her dog
"Sweetie-Kins"
on my lap, visited the class and did her show and tell about her dog
"Sweetie-Kins"
Nov. 5, 2008, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,
Muslim Women's Memoir class.
Muslim Women's Memoir class.
With my Islam and Gender Class King's University
College, London Nov. 2009
College, London Nov. 2009
Islam at the Cinema, last class
April 2011
April 2011
Islam and Gender -- Symposium
Nov. 2011
Nov. 2011