John Esposito's warning against a clash of civilisations has never been more urgent Submitted by Abdullah Al-Arian on Fri, 07/24/2026 - 09:47 The Georgetown scholar died on 15 July, as US bombs fell on Iran. He spent his career warning that treating Islam as a threat would become a self-fulfilling prophecy John Esposito speaks to Middle East Eye's Unapologetic podcast in August 2025 (Screengrab/MEE) Off John Esposito would occasionally joke that he owed his success to Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. As one of a limited number of academic specialists on Islam at the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution, Esposito would be called upon time and again throughout his illustrious career to help explain the significance of events in a rapidly transforming region to a mystified American public.
Even as the field proliferated with scores of scholars and analysts aiming to fill the void with expert knowledge and policy recommendations, he stood apart. He stood apart for his deeper engagement with the people of the Muslim world, and for his commitment to fostering compassion and understanding. As friends, colleagues and former students come together to mourn Esposito following his death on 15 July, we reflect upon a life lived with purpose and an unwavering commitment to knowledge and truth in the face of prejudice and ignorance.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Though he initially planned to attend a Catholic seminary, Esposito embarked on a road less travelled, taking on the challenge of specialising in the study of Islam at a time when the religion and its just over half a billion adherents around the world were the furthest things from the minds of most Americans. A path of understanding Esposito often spoke of the role of his mentor, the late scholar Ismail al-Faruqi, who was instrumental in guiding him as he forged a path of understanding across worlds, cultures and religious traditions. Al-Faruqi had been forced to confront his own exile from Palestine at the hands of the Zionist project, making his way to the United States, where he produced foundational works such as The Historical Atlas of the Religions of the World (1974) and pioneered the critical Islamisation of Knowledge project.
Esposito began his scholarly career in an era where American decision-makers and the broader public still looked at the world through the black-and-white lens of the…
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