Habibollah Babaei

Professor at Seminary and University

Dr. Habibollah Babaei (born 1351 SH / 1972/1973 CE) is a researcher, Associate Professor, and faculty member of the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy (ISCA). He specializes in the fields of civilizational studies, theology, mysticism, and Islam and West studies. He is currently the Director of the Department of Cultural-Civilizational Studies at Baqir al-Olum University and the Research Deputy of the Women's Seminaries of the country. He pursued his seminary education in Qom and benefited from teachers such as Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani and Sayyid Yadollah Yazdanpanah. He received his master's degree in Theology and Islamic Teachings from the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute with a thesis titled "Principles and Foundations of Ta'wil in Understanding and Interpreting the Qur'an" (under the supervision of Sadeq Larijani), and obtained his specialized PhD in the History of Islamic Civilization and Nations from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tehran (dissertation on the School of Hillah and Iranian culture in the 7th to 9th centuries AH). Babaei has numerous executive records, including the management of the Department of Islam and West Studies and the Department of Civilizational Studies at ISCA, the presidency of the Center for Social-Civilizational Studies of the same academy, the Research Deputyship of the Center for Civilization for the Development of Islamic Thought (Qom branch), the secretariat of the Islamic Studies Group (Systemic Approach) at Al-Mustafa International University, and the chairmanship of the Table on Social and Political Issues of Iran (Justice) at the Islamic Propagation Office. He has also completed educational and research courses in the United States (University of Virginia) and Iraq. His main research areas include theorizing about Islamic civilization, the relationship between Islam and the West, mystical Ta'wil of the Qur'an, unity and diversity in the civilizational process, and the concept of "Ummah" beyond civilization. Among his prominent works are the books Theoretical Explorations in Theology and Civilization, Mystical Suffering and Social Ardor, Mystical Ta'wil and Esoteric Interpretation, A Theoretical Inquiry into Civilization, and An Introduction to the Problematology of Civilization in the Islamic World, as well as numerous scholarly-research articles.