Iqbal Akhtar

Biography

Iqbal Akhtar is a dual-appointment in the department of politics & international relations as well as religious studies at Florida International University. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh’s New College School of Divinity on the history of The Khōjā of Tanzania, an Indic Muslim merchant caste in East Africa. Some of his publications can be found on Academia. Currently, his research is focused on reconstructing the 18th century religious cosmology of the Sindhi Khōjā. Through the ongoing interdisciplinary programme being pursued at FIU towards a Muslim Studies programme, Khōjā Studies is emerging as an important component for international interdisciplinary scholarly cooperation.

At FIU, the courses Dr. Akhtar leads include: The International Relations of South Asia, Development of International Relations Thought, Gender and Jihad in the Quran, Islam and International Relations, Islamic Faith and Society, Islamic Political Thought, and Sufism: Islamic Mysticism.

Areas of Expertise

Khōjā studies, Western Indian Ocean Studies, transnational histories, Sindhi and Gujarati Islamic literature, postcolonial thought, and Islamic studies

Degrees

BA, Washington University, Political Science, 2002
MA, Tulane University, Political Science, 2004
MA, University of Denver, Religious Studies, 2008
PhD, University of Edinburgh, 2012