Sherman A. Jackson is the King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture, Professor of Religion, Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California. A native of Philadelphia, he has taught at numerous universities in the US and has also taught abroad. He is an internationally recognized authority on Islamic law and theology and contemporary Islam in America. He has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, as well as one of the top 10 experts on Islam in the United States by the Religion Newswriters Associations ReligionLink.