Ahmad Atif Ahmad

Ahmad Atif Ahmad is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he teaches courses on Islamic legal reasoning in medieval Islam and early modern Egypt. His office is located in HSSB 3032, and he can be reached at aaahma@ucsb.edu. He also serves on UCSB's Council on Faculty Issues and Awards and the UC-System wide Academic Advisory Committee for Internship Programs in the University Center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Ahmad received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and has previously held significant academic positions including associate director of the University of California Center in Washington, Sultan Qaboos Chair of Mideast Studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and visiting associate professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

His research focuses on fundamental questions about the nature of law, its legitimacy, how it's known, and how it evolves over time, with particular expertise in medieval Islamic law and modern Egyptian legal systems. He examines how religious and legal frameworks intersect and transform, especially since the establishment of Egyptian National Courts in 1883. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary relevance regarding debates about religious law's permanence and application.

Dr. Ahmad's scholarly achievements include:

• "Pitfalls of Scholarship: Lessons from Islamic Studies" (2016)
• "The Fatigue of the Sharia" (2012)
• "Islam, Modernity, Violence, and Everyday Life" (2009)
• "Structural Interrelations of Theory and Practice in Islamic Law" (2006)
• "Isti'naf al-Ahkam al-Qada'iyya wa Naqduha fi al-Tashri' al-Islami" (1997)

At UCSB, Professor Ahmad teaches undergraduate courses including RS119A: Introduction to Islamic Law, RS119B: The Qur'an and its Interpretations, RS119C: Jihad and Just War Theory, RS119D: Islam and Women, RS119E: Islam and Government, RS2: Islam and the West, and RS6: Islam and Modernity. His graduate seminars cover advanced topics such as Sharia and Nations, Research and Method in Islamic Studies, Islamic Political Philosophy, Apostasy and Heresy in Islam, Fatawa Literature, and Readings in Tafsir and Hadith.