Khalil Andani

Assistant Professor of Religion

• Email: khalilandani@augustana.edu
• Office: Old Main 9

Khalil Andani holds a Ph.D in Islamic Studies from Harvard University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

He is currently writing his first book based on his dissertation, titled “Revelation in Islam: Qur’anic, Sunni, and Shi‘i Ismaili Perspectives,” which is a historical investigation of Islamic theologies of revelation in the formative and classical periods of Islam, beginning with the Qur’an and extending through Qur’anic commentary (tafsir), Sunni and Shi‘i prophetic tradition (hadith), Sunni theology, and Shi‘i Ismaili philosophy. 

Andani’s research areas are Qur’anic studies, Islamic intellectual history, Shi‘i Islam, and Sufism. His publications have appeared in The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, The Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies, Religion Compass, and The Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies.

He teaches courses on Islamic history and thought, Islamic ethics, Christian-Muslim interactions, the study of religion, and comparative mysticism. Andani’s public and academic talks can be viewed on his YouTube channel. 

Dr. Andani won Best Ph.D. Dissertation of the Year from the Foundation for Iranian Studies for 2019-20. His dissertation, entitled "Revelation in Islam: Qur’ānic, Sunni, and Shiʿi Ismaili Perspectives," was submitted to the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University.

Selected publications:

“Divine Diversity: The Aga Khan’s Vision of Pluralism.” Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies. In Press.

“The Merits of the Bāṭiniyya: al-Ghazālī’s Appropriation of Ismā‘īlī Cosmology.” Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies Vol. 29, No. 2 (May 2018), 181-229.

“A Survey of Ismaili Studies (Part 2): Post-Fatimid Ismailism and Modern Ismailism.” Religion Compass Vol. 10, No. 11 (November 2016): 269-282. 

“A Survey of Ismaili Studies (Part 1): Early Ismailism and Fatimid Ismailism.” Religion Compass Vol. 10, No. 8 (August 2016): 191-206.

“Reconciling Religion and Philosophy: Nāṣir­i Khusraw’s (d. 1088) Jāmiʿ al­ḥikmatayn.” In The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, edited by Khaled El­Rouayheb and Sabine Schmidtke. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016, 169-190.

“Light upon Light – The Qur’ān and the Light of Muhammad: Sahl al-Tustarī’s Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-aẓīm.” In A Guide to Sufi Literature, edited by Mohammed Rustom and Joseph Lumbard. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accepted. Forthcoming.

Specializations: Sufism, Shi'i Islam, Islamic intellectual history