# Mohsen Goudarzi Faculty Advisory Committee Member Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Harvard Divinity School ![goudarzi](/sites/g/files/omnuum3186/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/shiism-global-affairs/files/mohsen-profile-294x400.jpg?itok=h44S8t4D) email Mohsen Goudarzi is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Harvard Divinity School faculty, having taught previously at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). He is an expert in Qur'anic Studies and his scholarship is leading to the reevaluation of some of the most fundamental assumptions previously held in the study of the Qur’an. Goudarzi is a scholar of religion who studies the Qur’an and early Islamic history using a variety of analytical approaches, including literary, linguistic, comparative, and historical perspectives. In particular, he is interested in the Qur'an as a window onto the religious developments of Late Antiquity and early Islam. He is also interested in various fields of Islamic learning, especially the sciences of exegesis (*tafsīr*), theology (*kalām*), and law (*fiqh*). Currently, he is working on two book projects. The first one provides a new interpretation of major elements of the qur'anic worldview, including the Qur’an’s vision of history, prophecy, and scripture. His second project explores the significance of cultic rituals, especially those centered on the Meccan Sanctuary, to the religious teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the identity of his earliest followers. Goudarzi received a certificate from the University of Minnesota's Center for Educational Innovation for his dedication to student learning. He had also received a certificate of distinction in teaching three times from the Office of Undergraduate Education while a teaching fellow at Harvard.