Mairaj Syed

Education and Degree(s):

• M.A., Ph.D. in Religion, Princeton University
• B.A. in Business, University of Texas at Austin

Research Interest(s):

• Islamic law, Hadith literature, NLP/ML, Digital Humanities, Islamic Ethics, Ethical Theory, Islamic Political Thought, Islamic Intellectual History, Legal Theory, Legal History, Law and Society, Moral Philosophy, Social Theory, Gender

Course(s) Taught:

• Religion and Law (RST 1H), the Qur'an (RST 65C), Introduction to Islam (RST 60), Introduction to Islamic Thought (RST 160), Introduction to Islamic Law (RST 162), Foundational Theories of Religion (RST 200B), Early Medieval Culture (MST 20A), Qur’anic Arabic (MSA 181C)

Teaching Experience:

11 years

Current Projects:

His recent research utilizes statistical and computational analytical techniques to understand the development of hadith literature in the first three centuries of Islam. Looking ahead, he is pursuing two major streams of research. The first involves the application of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to create a fully annotated digital corpus of Islamic thought. This includes developing automatic translation models capable of producing first-draft translations of Islamic texts, particularly those of a specialized and discursive nature such as theology, law, philosophy, and mysticism. The second stream of research focuses on exploring the heritage of Islamic thought for both interpretive and constructive purposes, with a particular emphasis on addressing contemporary moral and political issues.

Honors and Awards:

• Fulbright Fellow (2014)
• UC Davis Academic Senate Faculty Large Grant for Hadith Information Network Project (2018)
• Middle Ages in the Wider World Summer Research Grant for Hadith Information Network Project (2018)
• College of Letters and Science Fellow (2020-2023)