Mukhtar Ali

Mukhtar Ali is an Assistant Professor affiliated with the University of Illinois, specifically within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. He specializes in Islamic Studies, with a focus on Sufism, Islamic philosophy, ethics, and classical Arabic and Persian literature. Previously, he taught Arabic at Claremont McKenna College and theological ethics at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

Dr. Ali holds a PhD and B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. His research explores Sufi metaphysics, Qurʾānic exegesis, and comparative religious thought. He has authored influential works such as Philosophical Sufism (2021) and The Horizons of Being (2020), alongside translations of classical Islamic texts like The Principles of Correspondences (2013).

His academic contributions bridge historical Islamic thought with contemporary philosophical inquiry, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to religious studies. He actively engages in translating and interpreting esoteric Islamic texts, making them accessible to modern audiences.