Education
B.A., Columbia University, East Asian Studies, 1988-1992
M.A., Columbia University, Religion, 1994-1995
M.Phil., Columbia University, Religion, 1996-1998
Ph.D., Columbia University, Religion, 1999-2005
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Religion, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2008-2011
Associate Professor, Religion, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2012-2015
Associate Professor, Cultural and Religious Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015-Present
Scholarly Interests
History of Islam in China
Islam
Sufism
Chinese Philosophy
East Asian Religions
History of Religion
World Religions
Comparative Mysticism
Religious Fundamentalism
Professional Affiliations
Member, American Academy of Religion, since 1996
Member, Association of Asian Studies since 2008
Languages
Arabic (Classical), reading proficiency
Chinese (Classical), reading proficiency
Chinese (Modern Mandarin), spoken and reading proficiency
French, spoken and reading proficiency
Courses
Chinese University of Hong Kong
CURE 1111: “The Study of Religion”
CURE 1123/UGED 1400: “World Religions”
CURE 2226: “Introduction to Islam”
CURE 2228: “History of the Arab World”
CURE 3376: “Religious Fundamentalism and Asian Culture”
CURE 3378: “Fieldwork in Islamic Culture and Religion”
RELS 5300: “The Study of Islam” (M.A. Seminar)
RELS 5001: “Method and History of Religious Studies” (Graduate Seminar)
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
REL 150: “Introduction to the World’s Major Religions”
REL 209: “Understanding Islam”
REL 352: “Sufism: Mystical Dimensions of Islam”
REL 354: “Islam in History”
REL 383: “Mysticism, East and West”
REL 495: “Seminar in Religion: Sufi Poetry”
REL 495: “Seminar in Religion: Islam in China”
REL 625: “Applied Methods in the Study of Religion”
REL 652: “Seminar on Western Religion: Abrahamic Mysticisms”
REL 661: “Seminar on East Asian Religion: Islam in China”
Hunter College
REL 110: “The Nature of Religion”
REL 334: “Mysticism”
REL 352: “Islam”
REL 362: “Muslim Minorities: Islam in Multicultural Contexts”
“I am guided by a personal philosophy of understanding and demonstrating the universal through the specific. A lover of words and their origins, I remind my students that they are at a ‘university’, whose etymology ultimately derives from ‘universe’, and thus each class they take is devoted to a particular aspect of the totality of knowledge.” – Dr. James D. Frankel
Postgraduate Students
Graduated M.Phil. students (Total: 1)
Current Ph.D. Students (Total: 4)
“I believe that my responsibilities as teacher and scholar extend well beyond the classroom.”
Director of the Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture
In order to promote Islamic Studies in Hong Kong, the Research Institute for the Humanities (RIH) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) came to a collaborative agreement with the Islamic Cultural Association (Hong Kong) in 2013. In 2015, the management of the university approved the establishment of the Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture (CSIC), whose dual mission is to further the study of Islam and Muslim cultures (especially in the Chinese region), and to foster strong relations among the university, local Muslims, and the greater Hong Kong community, through scholarship, education, and outreach.
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is dedicated to the study, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, of all aspects of Islamic culture and civilization and of contemporary Muslim societies. The Centre’s Fellows are active in different departments, faculties and colleges across the University. Many students and senior academics have come to Oxford, over the years, through the Centre’s Scholarships and Visiting Fellowships programmes. The Centre arranges lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences, exhibitions and other academic events throughout the academic year.
Organizer of the Annual Islamic Cultural Festival at CUHK
Since its beginning in 2016, the Islamic Cultural Festival at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has become a welcome addition to the annual events on campus. Growing each year in scope and attendance, the festival regularly includes a series of activities, which have come to include an Arabic Calligraphy Workshop, Festivities Day, Halal Food Workshop and Dinner, film screening, several talks on Islam and Muslim-related topics, and a tour of local mosques. These activities attempt to present Islamic culture – with its breadth and depth – from multidimensional perspectives, for instance, from inner faith to daily practices, from classroom activity to field study, and from local to international dimensions. The Islamic Cultural Festival aims to promote intercultural exchanges on campus, and enhance the understanding of Islamic culture among the CUHK community as well as the public.
Conference Organization
Organizing Committee Member, International Conference on Chinese Muslim (Hui) in Diaspora: Culture, Gender, Identity, and Religious Traditions”, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 02/12/2015- 03/12/2015
Organizing Committee Member, International Conference on Islamic Arts in Intercultural Perspective in conjunction with “Workshop on Ethnographies of Islam in China”, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 04/03/2015-05/03/2016
Chair, Organizing Committee, Pleasure, Providence and Purity: An International Conference on Food and Drink in Islamic Societies and Cultures, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 27/04/2017-28/05/2017
Chair, Organizing Committee, International Conference on Islam in the China Seas, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 23/03/2018-24/03/2018
Organizing Committee Member, Conference on Environmental Humanities, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 06/12/2018-07/12/2018
Internal Service
Department
Member, B.A. Committee in Religious Studies, 2015-Present
Member, Graduate Panel of Religious Studies, 2015-Present
Non-JUPAS Admissions, Religious Studies, 2015-Present
Faculty
Member, Committee on Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Arts, 2015-Present
Member, Executive Committee, Research Institute for the Humanities, 2016-Present
College
CRS College Coordinator, Shaw College, 2016-Present
University
Associate Director, Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture, 2015-2016
Director, Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture, 2016-Present
External Service
Reviewer, Journal of Islamic Studies
Reviewer, Cambridge University Press
Academic Advisor, Zhenghe International Peace Forum
External Reviewer, School of Humanities and Social Science, CUHK(SZ)
Reviewer, Humanitas Taiwanica