John Turner

Education

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2001
M.A., University of Michigan, 1996
B.A., Furman University, 1993

Areas of Expertise

• Islam

• Premodern Islamic History

• Modern Middle East History

• Islamic law (development of Hanbali School)

• Iran

Personal Information

Associate Professor of History John Turner holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the interaction of political and religious authority in premodern Islamic history. He is particularly interested in the categorization and exclusion of heresy and heretics. His book, Inquisition in Early Islam (London, 2013), seeks to explain the role of the 8th-10th century Caliph and the Caliphate in the definition of what it means to be a Muslim. In addition to his primary field, as a graduate student he studied modern history with a focus on Syria and Iran, where he also studied Arabic (in Damascus) and Persian (in Tehran). His courses range from surveys of the premodern and modern periods in the Middle East to country specific courses, and he covers eras from the foundations of Islam to the current day.