Draft:Muhammad Qasim Zaman

Muhammad Qasim Zaman is a Pakistani-American scholar of Islamic studies and a professor at Princeton University. He is known for his influential work on Islamic law, religious authority, madrasah education, and modern Islamic thought. Zaman is the Robert H. Niehaus ’77 Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Religion at Princeton and has authored several widely cited books on Islam in South Asia and the contemporary Muslim world.

Early life and education

Zaman earned his Ph.D. in Islamic studies from McGill University. His academic focus has primarily been on the intellectual, legal, and institutional developments in Islamic societies, with a strong emphasis on South Asia.

Academic career

Zaman taught at Brown University before joining Princeton University in 2006. At Princeton, he has served as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies. In 2019, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his contributions to the humanities.

He has also been affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as a visiting scholar.

Research and scholarship

Zaman’s research explores the intersections of Islamic tradition and modernity. His work addresses a range of topics including:

• The historical and contemporary role of the ulama (religious scholars)
• Reforms in Islamic education, particularly in madrasahs
• The development of Islamic modernist and Islamist thought
• The interaction between religious and political institutions in Muslim societies
• Flows of ideas between the Arab Middle East and South Asia

He is considered a leading authority on the modern transformation of Islamic legal and educational institutions.

Major works

Zaman has authored and edited numerous books and scholarly articles.

Books

• Religion and Politics under the Early Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite (1997)
• The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change (2002)
• Ashraf ʿAli Thanawi: Islam in Modern South Asia (2008)
• Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age: Religious Authority and Internal Criticism (2012)
• Islam in Pakistan: A History (2018)

Edited volumes

• Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education (co-edited with Robert W. Hefner)
• Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought (co-edited with Roxanne Euben)
• Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought (contributing editor)

Honors and recognition

• Guggenheim Fellowship (2009)
• Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019)

Influence and reception

Zaman's work has been highly regarded by scholars of Islamic and South Asian studies. His book The Ulama in Contemporary Islam is praised for its balanced and historically grounded analysis of religious authority. Islam in Pakistan has been widely cited for offering a comprehensive historical overview of Islam's place in the Pakistani state and society.

See also

• Ulama
• Madrasah education
• Islamic modernism
• Political Islam
• Ashraf Ali Thanawi