Aurangzeb Haneef
Assistant Professor, Study of Religion
Director, Minor in the Study of Religion (2024–2027)

Aurangzeb Haneef’s research lies at the intersection of Islamic intellectual history and the study of religion in the modern period. His work explores the formative and early classical periods of Islam, with particular attention to Qurʾānic exegesis (tafsīr), ḥadīth, historiography, manuscript culture, and the transmission of knowledge. His doctoral research examined the tafsīr attributed to Sufyān al-Thawrī (d. 161/778), situating it within its intellectual and historical contexts. Beyond the premodern period, his scholarship engages contemporary questions about conflict, peacebuilding, justice, and ecology through the lens of religion and scriptural interpretation.

Education

  • Ph.D., Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, 2022
    Thesis: “The Tafsīr of Sufyān al-Thawrī (d. 161/778): A study of its provenance, sources, methods, and topics”

  • Master of Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School, 2009 (Islamic Studies)

  • International M.A. in Peace, Conflict, and Development Studies, Universitat Jaume I / University of Innsbruck, 2007
    Thesis: “Religion and Peacebuilding: Nonviolence and Use of Force in Islam”

Courses Taught

  • Islamic Studies (core)

  • Qurʾān and Its Interpreters: Between Text and Context

  • Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding

  • Jihād: Religion and Warfare in the Islamicate Context

Planned offerings: The Sacred Nature: Religion and Ecology; Theologies of Liberation: Justice in World Religions; The Prophetic Word: Ḥadīth in Context; Qurʾān in the Modern Age

Academic and Other Links

Basic Chapter

"Islam: A system of Salaam/Peace" in Dietrich, Wolfgang et al (eds.) (2011): International Handbook on Peace: A Cultural Perspective, Palgrave McMillan: London/New York.

"Education in Muslim Societies: Learning from the Past" in Basit, Abdul (ed.) (2012): Global Muslim Communities at a Crossroads: Understanding Religious Beliefs, Practices, and Infighting to End the Conflict, Praeger: Santa Barbara.

"Theory and Practice of Conflict Resolution" in Ahmar, Moonis (ed.) (2005): Different Perceptions on Conflict Resolution: Need for an Alternate Approach, University of Karachi: Karachi.

Other

"Reimagining religious minorities and the national flag," The News on Sunday, September 9, 2012

"Islam and Climate Change: How Fasting makes us Earth-centric," Youlin Magazine, June 14, 2018

Book Review: "Between Islam and the West: The Life of Maryam Jameelah," Books and Authors, Daily Dawn, February 12, 2012

"Engaging with Religion and the Religious," The Express Tribune, November 6, 2013

"Discriminating between the dead: On violence against religious minorities," The Express Tribune, October 11, 2013

PaperI

Conference paper: "Hamas had a Charter", in International Conference on "New Horizons in Islamic Area Studies: Encounters, Reflections, and Collaborations," November 2013, LUMS

Conference paper on "Tafs?r texts as lecture notes: Reassessing early Tafs?r tradition through exegetical reports of Sufy?n al-Thawr? (d. 778 CE)," British Association of Islamic Studies Annual Conference, St. John s College, Cambridge University, June 30-July 1, 2025.

Conference paper: "Some Issues in Religious Pluralism and the Quranic Perspective," at a student conference, "Conversations beyond Religious Boundaries" at Harvard Divinity School, dedicated to the life and legacy of Krister Stendahl, April 2009.