About Chris
Scholarship in service
of understanding.
I am a scholar of Islam, educator, and curriculum architect working at the intersection of religion, history, and public life. I’m based in Fort Worth, Texas.
The work behind the work
Texts, teaching, and relationships.
I study how Muslims have understood Christians and Jews, especially through Islamic law, and what those histories can help us understand today.
My Ph.D. and M.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (Arabic) are from UCLA. My dissertation, The Hermeneutical Christian in Ḥanbalī Thought, examines the place of Christians in Islamic legal thinking. I also hold a B.A. in Theological Studies from The King’s University, where I graduated summa cum laude.
As a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Haifa from 2021 to 2023, I continued that research while leading cross-cultural workshops and lecturing in Arabic and English. Teaching and scholarly exchange in Israel and Morocco have shaped the way I approach religious difference.
Today, I design learning experiences and help churches, denominations, and Christian institutions understand Islam with intellectual honesty, confident faith, and mercy. The questions deserve careful study, and the people involved deserve to be understood in the fullness of their lived faith.
Explore my writing and researchCredentials
Two views of my experience.
Download a full CV with the emphasis most relevant to your organization.
Current work
From research to education.
I serve as Chief Curriculum Architect for the Center for Public Faith’s Faith and Public Life initiative, a six-week program for the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network and its partners.
I am also President of the Board of the Fulbright Israel Interest Group, supporting public programming, advocacy, and cultural and academic exchange among alumni.
My writing appears in academic reference works and edited volumes published by Brill, Routledge, and others, alongside essays for the London School of Economics and the Center for Christian Thought and Ethics.
Explore selected workTeaching & leadership
Learning across communities.
My teaching spans university classrooms, professional workshops, and church leadership training.
At UCLA, I taught Arabic, public speaking, business communication, and courses on Jerusalem, and served as a Teaching Fellow in courses on Islam, the Middle East, and the ancient world. I also trained teaching assistant cohorts.
With Georgetown’s Study of Religions Across Civilizations, I worked on program development and cross-cultural events from 2019 to 2024, including one year as Interim Executive Director. My public work continues through speaking, writing, and Fulbright programming.
Speaking and training for your organization