Academic Bio
Mohammad Sagha is a PhD candidate in Islamic History and Civilization and Co-Director of the Shi’i Studies Group at the University of Chicago. He is also the Iran Project Coordinator at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and an Editor for SHARIAsource at Harvard’s Islamic Legal Studies Program. Sagha’s research focuses on the origins of Islamic sectarian movements, early Islamic revolutionary underground networks, and the foundations of Shi’i dynastic power under the Buyids. Sagha also studies modern Islamic thought and Middle East geopolitics focusing on Islamism, Iran, and the Shi’i Arab Middle East.
Previously, Sagha was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies studying under Professor Roy Mottahedeh and received an MA in Middle Eastern Studies at University of Chicago. Sagha travels frequently to the region, including as a researcher at University of Tehran. He is fluent in Persian, advanced in Arabic, and proficient in German and French.