Mohammad Fanaei Eshkevari was born in Gilan (North of Iran) on December 29, 1961. After completing high school he entered Howze of Qum (the Islamic School of Theology) where he studied Islamic sciences. In 1990, he was graduated from Howze in Islamic mysticism and philosophy.
In 1994, he completed his master degree in comparative philosophy from the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University, Canada.
In 2000, he received his PhD from the faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University in Philosophy of Mysticism. His dissertation is “Epistemology of Mystical Experience”.
Since 2001, he is teaching comparative philosophy, mysticism and theology in Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute, Qum, Iran. He published more than fifty books and articles in Persian on different areas of Islamic thought.
Some Published Works of Dr. Fanaei Eshkevari in English:
Mohammad Fanaei Eshkevari, An Introduction to Contemporary Islamic Philosophy, translated by Mostafa Hoda’i, London: MIU Press, 2012.
Published Papers:
1. “Mysticism and Religion: A Shi’i View”, in On Spirituality, ed. M. D. Bryant S. K. Harrison and A. J. Reimer, (Kitchener, Ontario: Pandora Press, 2010), pp. 87-97.
2. “Self-Knowledge and Soul” in Soul: A Comparative Approach. Eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Lagenhausen, Germany: ontos verlag, 2010, pp. 17-24.
3. “Reflection on Prayer: A Muslim Perspective,” reprinted in Spiritual Message of Islam, Ed. M.A. Shomali (London: Islamic Center of England, 2009), pp. 103-112.
1. “God in Islamic Mysticism” in Proofs for the Existence of God, eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Legenhausen (Innsbruck: Innsbruck University Press, 2008), pp. 91-98.
5. “Mulla Sadra’s Theory of Substantial Motion,” in Substance and Attribute: Western and Islamic Traditions in Dialogue, eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Legenhausen (Germany: ontos verlag, 2007), pp. 25-43.
6. “Sohravardi and the Question of Knowledge,” in Plato and Sohravardi (Athens: Hellenic Society for Philosophical Studies, 2007), pp. 48-62.
7 .Faith and Morality in Islam and Christianity,” in A Catholic-Shi’a Engagement: Faith and Reason in Theory and Practice, eds. Anthony O’Mahony and others, (London: Melisende, 2006), pp. 170-180.
8. “Prayer and Contemplation in Islamic Spirituality,” in Catholics and Shi’a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology and Spirituality, eds. Anthony O’Mahony and others, (London: Melisende, 2004), pp. 256-262.
9. “Mysticism and Dialogue among Cultures” in Peace Office Newsletter, Vol. 36, No. 1, January-March 2006.
10. God’s Incluscive Mercy” in Peace and Justice: Essays from the forth Shi’I Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue, Winnipeg: 2011, pp.120-124.
11. “Islamic Philosophy in Contemporary Iran,” in Al-Mustafa Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol. 1, Nu. 1, (Winter 2012), pp.89-123.