Ahmed E. Souaiaia (pronounced sway-EE-yah) is a faculty member at the University of Iowa, holding joint appointments in International Studies, the Department of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures, the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, and the College of Law. For over two decades, his teaching and scholarship have centered on human rights, law, religion, and global justice. Recently, he has incorporated the Systems Thinking Framework into his scholarship to examine the complex legal, political, economic, and social institutions that shape human rights outcomes.
Dr. Souaiaia’s current research explores the historical foundations of economic, social, and public health rights through classical Islamic thought, with a focus on the economic philosophy of Ibn Khaldun and the medical writings of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). His teaching includes courses on wealth, inequality, and Islam that integrate Ibn Khaldun’s theories of work, economic activity, and social organization, as well as seminars on classical Islamic medicine informed by his ongoing translation of Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine.
His scholarship argues that Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Sina employed modes of analysis that reflect principles now recognized as central to systems thinking, providing historical depth to contemporary discussions of human dignity, sustainable development, public health, and social justice.
Recently published…
- Journal Article: Reading and interpreting Ibn Khaldun’s economic philosophy
- Translated work: al-Muqaddima: al-Ma`ash
- Muslims and the Western Conception of Rights
- Is Facebook the Face of Cyber Colonialism
- Hope Springs Eternal: Reforming Inheritance Law in Islamic Societies
- What is the difference between “Muslim” and “Islamic”?
- The Genealogy, Ideology, and Future of ISIL (Daesh) and its Derivatives
- Theories and Practices of Islamic Finance and Exchange Laws: Poverty of Interest
- Qatar’s Formula for Influence: Wealth, Islamism, Aljazeera and the Arab Spring
- Politics of Appearances: Religion, Law, and the Press in Morocco
- She’s Upright: Sexuality and Obscenity in Islam
- On the Sources of Islamic Law and Practices
