HI. Sh. Dr. Mohammad Ali Shomali is a graduate of the Islamic Seminaries of Qum, Iran. After completing his BA and MA degrees in western philosophy at the University of Tehran, he earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Manchester. He is currently the founding director of the International Institute for Islamic Studies in Qum.
He is also the founding director of the Risalat International Institute, which is devoted to Islamic curriculum development and educational training, among other initiatives. He has led numerous Islamic educational courses and seminars in over 30 cities across four continents.

Dr Shomali is the editor-in-chief of two journals:

Message of Thaqalayn: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Studies and Spiritual Quest: A Biannual Journal of Ethics and Spirituality.

His interest and participation in interfaith dialogue over the past 20 years led him to share panels with key figures in the US, Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Sweden, France, Poland, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the Philippines.

EDUCATION

1989-1993 B.A. in Western Philosophy, Tehran University, Iran
1994-1996 M.A. in Western Philosophy, Tehran University, Iran
1997-2001 PhD in Moral Philosophy, The University of Manchester, England.

BOOKS

  • Ethical Relativism: An Analysis of the Foundations of Morality (2001), also translated into Malay;
  • Shi‘i Islam: Origins, Faith & Practices (2004). This book has been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Kiswahili & Swedish.
  • Co-editor of “Catholics and Shi‘a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology and Spirituality’’ (Milesland, 2004 & 2011);
  • Principles of Jurisprudence: An Introduction to Methodology of Fiqh (2006);
  • A Selection of Ethical Texts (2006);
  • Co-editor of “A Catholic-Shi‘a Engagement: Faith & Reason in Theory & Practice’’ (Milesland, 2006 & 2011);
  • Co-editor of “A Catholic-Shi‘a Dialogue: Ethics in Todays Society’’(2008 & 2011);
  • Islamic Reference Series: God: Existence & Attributes
  • Islamic Reference Series: Word of God
  • Islamic Reference Series: Apostle of God
  • Islamic Reference Series: Ethics
  • Islamic Reference Series: Life
  • Islamic Reference Series: Spiritual Message of Islam
  • Self-Knowledge (International Publishing Co., 1996, 2nd Edition 2006), also translated into Malay, Spanish and Kiswahili;
  • Discovering Shi‘a Islam (8th edition 2014). This book has been translated from English into 14 languages (German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Persian, Swedish, Turkish, Urdu, Albanian and French.
  • Self Development (2016);
  • Lessons on Islamic Beliefs (2016);
  • Unity of God and Unity in God (2017);
  • Lessons on Islamic Morals (2nd edition 2017);
  • Lessons on Imamah and Wilayah (3rd edition 2018);
  • Lessons on Knowing the Qur’an (2020);
  • Tasbih of Lady Fatima (2020);
  • The Second Fatimah
  • Monks and Muslims I: Monastic and Shi‘a Spirituality in Dialogue (2012)
  • Monks and Muslims II: Creating Communities of Friendship (2014)
  • Monks and Muslims III
  • Co-translator of After Virtue by Alsdair MacIntyre (Persian);
  • Islam: Doctrines, Practices and Morals
  • Islamic Belief System: This book has been translated from English into Spanish, Arabic, Persian and Urdu.
  • Faith and Modernity: A Muslim-Christian Conversation (2018).
  • Islamic Bioethics: A General Scheme
  • The image of God in the Qur’an

    He has edited Islamic Reference Series, out of which so far these volumes have been published:

  • God: Existence & Attribute,
  • Word of God, Apostle of God,
  • Apostle of God,
  • Spiritual Message of Islam,
  • Life
  • Ethics.

He also has papers in the following books:

  • Mary, Jesus and Christianity: An Islamic Perspective,
  • Value of Life in Islam,
  • Revelation as Understood by Muslims, in Biblioteka EKUMENII (2005);
  • Can we See God,
  • Reason, Faith & Authority.