Mahmoud M. Ayoub

Mahmoud Mustafa Ayoub (June 1, 1935 – October 31, 2021) was a Lebanese Islamic scholar and professor of religious and inter-faith studies.

Early life Mahmoud Ayoub was born into a devout Muslim family on June 1, 1935, at Ain Qana (South Lebanon), a small town with an integrated religious population. His upbringing was socially integrated with events and people from both the Islamic and Christian religious faiths. Mahmoud Ayoub attended a British Presbyterian missionary school for the blind as a child. He described his experience in that school, noting that "the school authorities did not really have an educational program for us, what they wanted to do mainly was to make us Christians, and of course they did, and that created a lot of tension between me and my family, particularly my father." He would later join an American Southern Baptist Church seeking a more zealous approach of reaching others with the Gospel.

Career Mahmoud Ayoub was the faculty associate of Shi’ite Islam and Christian-Muslim relations and co-director at the Duncan Black MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations for Hartford Seminary at Georgetown University.

In 2013 when responding to questions about ISIS/ISIL, Ayoub dismissed them as contrary to Islam, stating that extremism has always been a problem in the religion, noting that Islam is unique among faiths in that it was founded as both a religion and a state. Mahmoud clarified the ideal dynamic would be a balance between the two with the state remaining in ultimate control. He further stated that from Islam's earliest beginnings, some have challenged that balance and sought to impose brutal theocracies, citing one group early in Islamic history that acted much like ISIS, trying to found a theocracy and killing all those who resisted or disagreed with it. "My view is the action of ISIS is not unique. Extremism appears in every epoch of Islam."

At a lecture in 2013 at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, Ayoub said at the heart of the Islamic moral system is love, the basis for peace. In quoting a passage from the Hadith (collected sayings of Muhammad): "No one of you will be a true believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

In a 2014 article in The Jewish Exponent regarding religious observations, Ayoub's words are quoted “Repentance may be regarded as the cornerstone of religious life of both the individual and society.”

As per his interpretation of the hadith, "Jihad may be regarded as a sixth fundamental obligation (faridah) incumbent on every Muslim when social and religious reform is gravely hampered or the community's integrity is threatened. In a situation where the entire Muslim ummah is in danger, jihad becomes an absolute obligation (fard 'ayn). Otherwise it is a limited obligation (fard kifayah), incumbent upon those who are directly involved. These rules apply to armed struggle, or the jihad of the sword."

In the media In 2009 Mahmoud Ayoub voiced his opinion regarding the idea of a U.S. Muslim college, believing Muslims are better off attending established American schools, saying U.S. Muslims badly need a seminary since there are none in the country: "I don't know that I would send my child to go to a college where they can only learn tradition. Young people have to live, I like mixing people. I don't like ghettos."

On 24 March 2015, the Peace Islands Institute brought together Mahmoud M. Ayoub and Neset Ulusal of Quinnipiac University for a discussion entitled "Muslim Voices Against Extremism".

In a 2015 article Mahmoud Ayoub's work was mentioned as helping develop a scholarly approach to inter-faith relations between Islam and Christianity.

In 2016 Ayoub was mentioned being the “driving force behind establishing the chair and raising money for it” regarding the first academic chair in North America dedicated to Shi’i studies at Hartford to help complement and contrast dialogue balancing the predominant Sunni view of Islamic thought.

Controversy In 2008, Mahmoud Ayoub was instrumental in persuading the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) to donate $1.5 million to the Temple University Seminary chair office. This effort was met with warnings from David Horowitz claiming that IIIT had funded terrorism and had terrorist ties. After the university seemed unable to publicly respond with an open acceptance or rejection of the donation, the IIIT withdrew its offer in December of that year. Although IIIT had been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security after the domestic terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, no charges were brought against their organization.

Awards In 2012, Mahmoud Ayoub received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).

Mahmoud has received a Kent Doctoral Fellowship, a Fulbright scholarship and a Canada Council Fellowship.