Dr Mohammad Ali Shomali

Founding  Director  of  the  International  Institute  for  Islamic Studies  and  the  Risalat  International  Institute

Hujjat al-Islam Dr Mohammad Ali Shomali is a graduate of the Islamic Seminaries of Qum and has also both a BA and an MA in Western Philosophy from the University of Tehran. He has earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Manchester. His doctoral thesis was on ethical relativism. He did his postdoctoral research on ethical issues related to life and death. He is currently the Founding Director of the International Institute for Islamic Studies and the Risalat International Institute in Qum, IRAN and the Former Director of Islamic Centre of England, London. Dr Shomali is editor-in-chief of two journals: the Message of Thaqalayn: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Studies and the Spiritual Quest: A Biannual Journal of Ethics and Spirituality. Dr Shomali is very interested and involved in interreligious dialogue and has organised or attended and presented papers in UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Austria, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Philippines, Sweden, etc.

Iran
1989-1993 B.A. in Western Philosophy
Tehran University, Iran
1994-1996 M.A. in Western Philosophy
Tehran University, Iran
England
1997-2001 PhD in Moral Philosophy
The University of Manchester, England

His publications include:

  • Self-Knowledge (1996 & 2006, also translated into Malay, Spanish and Kiswahili),
  • Ethical Relativism: An Analysis of the Foundations of Morality (2001, also translated into Malay),
  • Discovering Shi‘a Islam (87th edition 2014; also translated into 14 languages),
  • Shi‘a Islam: Origins, Faith & Practices (2003 & 2010; also translated into Spanish, Swedish, Arabic, Farsi and Kiswahili),
  • Principles of Jurisprudence: An Introduction to Methodology of Fiqh
    (2006).

He has also co-edited:      

  • Catholics & Shi’a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology & Spirituality (2004 & 2011),
  • Studies in Theology & Spirituality Catholic-Shi’a Engagement: Reason & Faith in Theory and Practice (2006 & 2011),
  • A Catholic-Shi‘a Dialogue: Ethics in Today’s Society (2008 & 2011),
  • Monks and Muslims: Monastic and Shi‘a Spirituality in Dialogue (2012),
  • Monks and Muslims II: Creating Communities of Friendship (2014).