Dr Ahmad Achtar

He is currently a lecturer in Islamic studies and programme convenor of the BA Study of Religions and MA in Abrahamic Religions at Heythrop College of London University. Before joining Heythrop, he taught on various courses in Islamic studies and Arabic language at the Muslim College, Leo Baeck College, Islamic College for Advanced Studies, Birkbeck College, SOAS and Open Theological College; University of Gloucestershire. Between (2005-2007) he worked as an academic advisor for Islamic Studies programme at Birkbeck London University.

He undertook his first degree at the University of Aleppo (Syria), gaining a BSc in physics. Following graduate studies in physics at Cambridge University he studied at the Muslim College (London) and  received his MA and PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies of University of London specialising in Qur’anic Studies.

His publication includes: Challenging Al-Qa’ida’s justification of terror, in Just War on Terror,  David Fisher and Brian Wicker (eds.), Ashgate,  London, 2010., pp.25-36. Currently he is working on two books: Approaches to Anthropomrophism in the Qur’ān and Theory of figurative language (majāz) in Arabic/Islamic Thought.

He is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, London and a member of British Association of Islamic Studies (BRAIS).  He is also involved in Scriptural Reasoning practice and is a member of SR University Group, Cambridge.