Ammar Nakshawani

Sayed Ammar Nakshawani (born 1981 in Iraq) is a British-Iraqi Twelver Shia scholar, author, and internationally acclaimed public lecturer of Azerbaijani descent. One of the most widely followed Shia Muslim intellectuals of his generation, he bridges classical Islamic scholarship with contemporary academic discourse and connects with Western Muslim youth in a unique way.

Early Life and Education

Born in 1981 into a distinguished religious family from Najaf — his grandfather Murtadha Nakshawani was a representative of Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei. His uncle is Baqir al-Irawani, a noted jurist and teacher at the Seminary of Najaf. The family migrated to the United Kingdom in 1987. He completed his undergraduate studies in Islamic history at University College London, then earned a PhD in Islamic intellectual thought from the University of Exeter, focusing on religious authority and leadership in early Islamic history. Alongside his Western academic education, he pursued traditional seminary studies in both Qom and Najaf.

Academic Career

In 2013, he was appointed to the Imam Ali Chair for Shi'i Studies at Hartford Seminary — one of the first Shia scholars to hold such a position at a Western institution. He later served as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute and as Special Representative to the United Nations for UMAA. He has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, UCLA, NYU, and institutions across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. In 2014, he was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.

Shia Voice Platform

In 2022, he founded Shia Voice, a digital platform making Shia religious discourse accessible to younger audiences through lectures, historical discussions, and theological reflections.

Books

His works include Husayn: The Eternal Legacy, The Fourteen Infallibles: Reflections on the Ahlul Bayt, Ali: The Elixir of Love, The Hidden Imam and the Awaited Savior, Karbala: A Historical and Theological Analysis, and Islam — Liberte, egalite, fraternite.