Remembering John L. Esposito, the American Scholar Who Corrected Western Misunderstandings of Islam

John L. Esposito, one of the most influential non-Muslim scholars of Islam in the United States, has died at the age of 86. He passed away on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, according to his family and Georgetown University.

Esposito spent more than five decades working to correct Western misunderstandings about Islam and to build dialogue between Muslims and the wider world. He was educated by Palestinian-American Muslim scholar Isma’il Raji al-Faruqi, an experience that shaped his lifelong commitment to presenting Islam on its own terms rather than through the lens of Western anxiety.

He spent nearly two decades teaching world religions at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he served as chair of the Department of Religious Studies, before moving to Georgetown University for the remainder of his career. At Georgetown, he held the title of University Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies. In 1993, he founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, later renamed the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Under his leadership, the centre became one of the world’s leading institutions for interfaith dialogue. He also launched the Bridge Initiative, a research project dedicated to tracking and challenging Islamophobia.

Esposito’s scholarly output was extraordinary even by academic standards: more than 50 books authored, co-authored, or edited over his career, with his work translated into 35 languages. Among his most notable publications are The Straight Path, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Future of Islam, and Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century.