Ali S. Asani

Ali Sultaan Asani (born 1954 in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Kenyan-American academic. He is Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard University. He has served as Director of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University as well as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

Background Asani was born and brought up in a Pakistani Kenyan family in Kenya. He is of Sindhi descent and belongs to the Ismaili Khoja community.

Academic career After completing his high-school education in Kenya, he attended Harvard College, graduating in 1977 summa cum laude in the Comparative Study of Religion. He continued his graduate work at Harvard in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) specializing in Indo-Muslim Culture, and received his Ph.D. in 1984. and the 2020 Harvard Foundation Faculty of the Year Award for his efforts at making Harvard College a more inclusive institution.