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Jamal J. Elias

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Class of 1965 Term Professor of Religious Studies
Contact Information
Phone: 
215.898.5838
Email Address: 
jjelias@sas.upenn.edu
Web Site: 
Professional Website

Jamal J. Elias serves as the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. He teaches courses on Islamic thought, with a focus on Sufism as well as visual and material culture in the Middle East and South Asia. He has written and lectured widely on Sufi thought and history, Qur’anic studies, as well as on religion, art, and culture in the Islamic World. His most recent publications include On Wings of Diesel: Trucks, Identity and Culture in Pakistan (2011) and Key Themes for the Study of Islam (2010).

Education: 

B.A., Stanford University (1983)
M.A., University of Pennsylvania (1985)
M.A., Yale University (1987)
Ph.D., Yale University (1991)

Research and Teaching Interests: 
  • Islamic mystical thought and metaphysics;
  • Religion and Material Culture;
  • Popular Culture in South Asia and Turkey;
  • Sufi literature;
  • Qur'anic Studies
Recent Courses: 
  • History of Islamic Civization,
  • Islamic Ethics,
  • Islam and Modernity,
  • Sufism,
  • Tafsir Literature,
  • Religion and Visual Culture,
  • Islamic Metaphysics
The Throne Carrier of God
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Death before Dying
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On Wings of Diesel
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This Is Islam
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