Expertise

Roots of religious violence; religion and constructive social engagement; interreligious peacebuilding; Islamic ethics of war and peace; peace studies

At the Keough School

A. Rashied Omar is associate teaching professor of Islamic studies and peacebuilding in the Keough School’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He also is a fellow of the Keough School’s Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion and the  Pulte Institute for Global Development.

Courses

• Perspectives on Peacebuilding (undergraduate peace studies course)
• International Peace Studies Capstone Course (for master of global affairs concentration in international peace studies)
• Islamic Ethics of War and Peace (undergraduate and master of global affairs elective)

Biography

A. Rashied Omar earned an MA and PhD in religious studies from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and an MA in international peace studies from Notre Dame.

During Notre Dame’s spring semester, Omar teaches a popular course on the Islamic ethics of war and peace as well as peace studies courses. For the remainder of the year, he serves as field research advisor to master of global affairs students in Cape Town, South Africa.

In addition to being a university-based researcher and teacher, Omar serves as imam (religious minister) at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa, a trustee of the Healing of Memories Institute in South Africa, a member of the Interfaith Council for Ethics Education, Arigatou International in Japan, and an advisory board member for Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa.

Research and Publications

Omar’s research and teaching focus on the roots of religious violence and the potential of religion for constructive social engagement and interreligious peacebuilding. He is co-author with David Chidester et al. of Religion in Public Education: Options for a New South Africa (UCT Press, 1994), a contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press, 2015), and a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (Macmillan Reference USA, 2016).

Recent Work

• Book: Islam Beyond Violent Extremism (Durban: Afrika Impressions Media)
• Book chapter: “Between Compassion and Justice: Locating an Islamic Definition of Peace” (Peace Movements in Islam: History, Religion, and Politics)
• Book chapter: “Religious Violence and State Violence” (Oxford Handbook of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding)
• Blog post: A Muslim response to Pope Francis’s environmental encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ (Contending Modernities)
• Blog post: The Peace Dimensions of Fratelli Tutti: A Muslim Perspective (Contending Modernities)
• Blog post: A Muslim Response to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (Contending Modernities)

In the Media

• Op-Ed: Archbishop Tutu: A lifelong witness to human dignity, just peace and interfaith solidarity (Independent Online)
• Profile: Meet Rashied Omar (NDWorks)
• Video: Fighting for Peace Among Religions (University of Notre Dame)