Mehdi Aminrazavi

Mehdi Aminrazavi was born in Mashhad on 22 September 1957. At the University of Washington in Seattle, he studied urban planning and philosophy, receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there. He later studied religious studies and philosophy of religion at Temple University, where he received his PhD in philosophy of religion.

Aminrazavi taught at the University of Mary Washington for more than three decades and concluded his full-time teaching career in 2023 as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion. He held the Kurt Leidecker Chair at the university and participated in programs in Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies, and interreligious dialogue. His areas of specialization include Islamic philosophy, medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, Eastern religions, and metaphysics.

A substantial part of Aminrazavi’s work is devoted to the philosophical traditions of Iran and Islam. Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination is among his well-known works on Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi and Illuminationist philosophy. Together with Seyyed Hossein Nasr, he also edited the multi-volume An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, which surveys a broad range of Iranian philosophical traditions. His books and articles address figures and topics such as Avicenna, Suhrawardi, later Islamic philosophy, mysticism, and the relation of Islamic intellectual traditions to contemporary philosophical questions.

Omar Khayyam is another major focus of Aminrazavi’s research. His book The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam examines Khayyam’s life, poetry, philosophy, and intellectual legacy. His attention to Khayyam forms part of a broader effort to introduce the philosophical dimensions of Iran’s intellectual tradition alongside its literary and mystical aspects.

Alongside the history of Islamic philosophy, Aminrazavi has addressed tolerance, interreligious dialogue, and the possibility of engaging Islamic philosophy with contemporary concerns. His work in the Religion and Dialogue program at the University of Mary Washington, as well as writings such as Philosophy, Religion, and the Question of Intolerance, reflect this dimension of his thought. Overall, his scholarship stands at the intersection of Islamic philosophy, Iran’s intellectual heritage, philosophy of religion, and dialogue among religious and philosophical traditions.