Reza Shah-Kazemi

Reza Shah-Kazemi (born 1 June 1960) is an author who specializes in comparative mysticism, Islamic Studies, Sufism and Shi'ism. He is the founding editor of the Islamic World Report and currently a research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies with the Department of Academic Research and Publications. He received degrees in International Relations and Politics at Sussex and Exeter University, before receiving his doctorate in Comparative Religion from the University of Kent in 1994. He later acted as a consultant to the Institute for Policy Research in Kuala Lumpur. 

He has served as managing editor of the Encyclopaedia Islamica, the English translation and edition of the Persian Great Islamic Encyclopedia (دائرةالمعارف بزرگ اسلامی / Da'irat al-Ma'arif-i Buzurg-i Islami). He was also one of the 138 signatories of the Open Letter titled "A Common Word Between Us and You," addressed to "Leaders of Christian Churches everywhere" on October 13, 2007. In 2009, he was included in the list of The 500 Most Influential Muslims by Georgetown University and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.

Biography
Reza Shah-Kazemi was born on 1 June 1960 in London. He obtained a First Class Honours in International Relations for his BA degree from Sussex University (1979-1984). Subsequently, he earned an MA in Politics with Distinction at Exeter University (1984-1985) which was followed by a PhD in Comparative Religion at University of Kent (1989-1994).

In 1994, he co-launched the Islamic World Report, which has since evolved into a publishing company. Between 1997 and 1999, he served as a consultant to the Institute for Policy Research (IKD) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During this period, he also held the position of general editor for the IKD Monograph Series.

Presently, he holds the role of Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, serves as a trustee of the Matheson Trust, and in the past, was a contributor to the BBC World Service program, "Pause for Thought."

Personal life
He was married to Sonia Nureen (Gul Hassan) Shah-Kazemi, who died on February 24, 2021. At the time of her death, the couple was working on a compilation, to be entitled, “Letting the Qur’an Speak for Itself".

Having spent a year in Paris dedicated to the study of French, he is from a Persian background, and is fluent in Persian.

He is a Perennialist.

Awards/prizes

 * Book of the Year on Walaya (Kitab-i Sal-i Vilayat), awarded for Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali, November 2007.
 * International Book Award (Jayazeh-yi Jahani), awarded for Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali, February 2008.

Articles

 * Defining Without Confining: reflections on a prophetic usage of sacred space
 * Recollecting the Spirit of Jihad
 * Eckhart’s Image of the Eye and the Wood: An analogy which explains ‘all that I have ever preached about’
 * A Message of Hope at the Eleventh Hour: Martin Lings, 1909-2005