Ammar Nakshawani

Ammar Nakshawani (عمار النقشواني; born 1981) is a British Shia scholar, author and orator.

Nakshawani was listed as one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2014. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute and University of Cambridge Centre of Islamic Studies. He previously held the Imam Ali Chair for Shi'i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools at Hartford Seminary.

Early life and education
Nakshwani was born to Emad Nakshawani, the son of Murtadha Nakshawani (died 1990), who served as a representative of grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei in Kufa. His mother is the daughter of the late sheikh, Muhammad-Taqi al-Irawani. He has an ethnic Azerbaijani background on his father's side. His uncle, Baqir al-Irawani is an Islamic jurist and teacher at the Islamic seminary of Najaf. In 1987 his family migrated to England.

Initiatives
Nakshawani serves as the Special Representative to the United Nations for the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA).

Prior to joining UMAA, Nakshawani served as the Visiting Scholar of Islamic Studies, at the University of Cambridge in England. In this position, he performed extensive research and academic analysis of ancient Islamic texts, which he has discussed at a number of academic forums.

Career
In 2014, Nakshawani was included in the list of The 500 Most Influential Muslims (also known as The Muslim 500, an annual publication first published in 2009) in the "Preachers and Spiritual Guides" section.