Biography
John Andrew Morrow is a Native North American and a member of the Métis people (Canada). His ancestors were Michif Otipemisiwak, Algonquin, Huron, Mi'kmaq, Innu, Penobscot, Abenaki, and Nipissing. Consequently, he is recognized as an Aboriginal Person under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act (1982) and an Indian by the Federal Court of Canada. As for his European forefathers, they were primarily French and Irish, but also included some Moriscos from Spain and Portugal.
John Andrew Morrow commenced a spiritual and scholarly quest at the age of 13. He embraced Islam at the age of 16, adopting the name Ilyas ‘Abd al-‘Alim Islam. Over the subsequent decades, he came to complete the full cycle of traditional Islamic Studies in Canada, the United States, and Morocco both independently and at the hands of Muslim scholars from a variety of schools of thought and spiritual paths.
He completed an Honors BA with double majors in Spanish and French Language and Literature at the University of Toronto along with an MA and PhD in Spanish American Literature, a terminal degree he earned at the age of 29. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Morrow concentrated on Hispanic, Native, and Islamic Studies. He researched the indigenous influence on Spanish American literature as well as the Arabic-Islamic influence on Spanish literature. He was introduced to Aljamiado literature by Dr. Ottman Hegyi, who fostered his interest in the Moriscos, a subject he has continued to study ever since.
Career
John Andrew Morrow is a professor, author, and research scholar. He has authored a large number of books and articles on a wide variety of topics, including: the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Wallace Fard Muhammad, Malcolm X, Shi‘ism, Sufism, Islamism, Aljamiado literature, the history of Shi‘ism in North Africa and al-Andalus, the indigenous influence on Spanish American literature, the Arabic-Islamic influence on Spanish literature as well as Arabic sociolinguistics. He is best known for his critically acclaimed study on "The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World."
Academic Affiliation
John Andrew Morrow was a Full Professor of Foreign Languages at Ivy Tech Community College until retiring from academia in 2016.[3] In 2011, he worked as professor of Islamic Studies, Advanced Spanish, and World Literature for Semester at Sea.[4] He also worked as a professor at Park University, Northern State University, and Eastern New Mexico University.[5]
Awards and Recognitions
John Andrew Morrow received an ISNA Interfaith Achievement Award in 2016. [6] He received Master Teacher certification in 2013 and was recognized as a Distinguished Faculty Member in 2012.[7] He has also received numerous teaching, impact, and service awards over the course of his career.
Publications
The Words of God to Prophet Muhammad: Forty Sacred Sayings. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 2015.
Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time. Tacoma, WA: Covenants Press, 2015.
El minarete y el campanario: los pactos del Profeta Muhammad con los cristianos del mundo. New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2015.
The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World. Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis; Tacoma, WA: Angelico Press, 2013.
Islamic Images and Ideas: Essays on Sacred Symbolism. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Sons, 2013.
Religion and Revolution: Spiritual and Political Islam in Ernesto Cardenal. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012.
Islamic Insights: Writings and Reviews. Qum: Ansariyan Publications, 2012.
The Encyclopedia of Islamic Herbal Medicine. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Sons, 2011.
Amerindian Elements in the Poetry of Ernesto Cardenal: Mythic Foundations of the Colloquial Narrative. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010.
Amerindian Elements in the Poetry of Rubén Darío: The Alter Ego as the Indigenous Other. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010.
Arabic, Islam, and the Allah Lexicon: How Language Shapes our Conception of God. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2006.
Presentations
John Andrew Morrow has lectured around the world, speaking in Canada, the United States, Abu Dhabi, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama.
Activism
A social critic and activist, Dr. Morrow has worked closely with solidarity committees since his youth. An outspoken opponent of social, political, economic, and environmental injustice, he stands side by side with the oppressed in their struggle against oppression. One of his recent works, The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World has inspired The Covenants Initiative, conceived by Charles Upton, a movement that urges Muslim to abide by the treaties concluded between the Messenger of Allah and the Christian communities of his period. Upon the request of Christian leaders, the Covenants Initiative has created the Genocide Initiative which seeks to have the crimes committed by ISIS and other Takfiri terrorists categorized as acts of religious, ethnic, and cultural genocide.