Abdul Aziz Said - Biography

Professor Said is the senior ranking faculty at American University and the occupant of the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace. He personifies a commitment to life-long learning and is a source of inspiration to current and former students around the globe. As founding director of both the International Peace and Conflict Resolution Division (SIS) and the university-wide Center for Global Peace (CGP), Professor Said provides essential leadership and guiding vision in making American University a resource for peace in the world.

For decades, Abdul Aziz Said has worked quietly and effectively to create a safe space for Iraqis to come together to construct a vision for their future--Arabs and Kurds, Shi'as and Sunnis. Widely known among Iraqi exiles who would later become Iraq's key political figures, in early 2003 Professor Said was tapped by the State Department as one of only two outside experts to guide the Democratic Principles Working Group within the Future of Iraq Project in formulating strategies to overcome anticipated challenges of governance and reconstruction with the fall of Hussein’s regime.

Building upon a life-long commitment to inclusive peace and democratic empowerment, Said and Iraq expert Dr. Carole O'Leary (CGP and SIS) are now facilitating the establishment of an independent Iraqi National Human Rights Commission with the support of a grant from the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor. In partnership with human rights advocates in Iraq, Said and O’Leary will lead a team which will provide technical expertise to Iraqis in defining the Commission’s role. The team will advise on the drafting of the Commission’s legal structure, establishing training programs for its personnel, assessing and making recommendations for infrastructure needs, developing community outreach, and on preparing the Commission for effective participation in international human rights bodies.

Professor Said is often sought out to present at conferences and provide consultations around the world. Presentations at conferences include: "Unity in Diversity: The Cultural Mosaic of Iraq" presented at The First Cultural Forum on Iraq, UNESCO Headquarters, France; "The Whole World Needs the Whole World: Establishing a Framework for the Dialogue of Civilizations" presented at the Old Library Trust in Northern Ireland; "Islam and Democracy" presented at the conference Year of Pericles: Democracy, Ancient Drama, Contemporary Tragedy in Delphi in Greece.

The author and co-author of more than seventeen books and numerous articles, Professor Said’s most recent co-authored book with Nathan Funk is entitled Islam and Peacemaking in the Middle East (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008).

Professor Said has taught on a multitude of topics related to Islam, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution including: Islamic Sources of Conflict and Resolution, The United States, the Middle East, and Islam, Islamic Peace Paradigms, Peace Paradigms, Spirituality and Global Politics.

Having developed a unique specialization in Islamic Peace, Professor Said will collaborate with Islamic Studies faculty across the Muslim world to integrate the breadth of Islamic sources on coexistence, reconciliation and conflict resolution into course curricula at American University. These course offerings will endeavor to reach beyond "Western" labels by mining the riches of the Qur’anic discourse and discovering that the tenets of peace are deeply embedded in the religious vision of Islam. A key objective of this initiative will be the development of a "globalized" curriculum on Islamic Peace.

Over the long-term, research and collaboration with Islamic scholars will contribute to a larger discourse through which Muslims and others will derive new insight and appreciation for Islam, in all its diversity, as a resource for peace.

Collection of Professor Said’s writings

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For more information about the
Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace, contact

Professor Abdul Aziz Said
American University
School of International Service
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016-8071
Phone: (202) 885-1632
Fax: (202) 885-6999
E-mail: tawhid@american.edu