Zaman S. Stanizai, Ph.D.

Dr. Stanizai has earned PhD and MA degrees in political science at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and as a Fulbright scholar he has earned an MA degree in linguistics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Stanizai has engaged in extensive postdoctoral study in Sufism and mysticism, concentrating on the philosophical underpinnings of Ibn Arabi’s work and a didactic analysis of Rumi’s poetry. His literary work consisted of traditional Persian and Pashto poetry with a cross-pollination of that style into modern English verse. A published poet himself, he has translated the works of Rumi and Hafiz into English. He teaches Islamic Traditions and Imaginal Perspectives at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California.