Akbar S. Ahmed is an anthropologist. He holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and is a professor of international relations at the American University. He has a Ph.D. from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London.

From 1982 to 1988, Ahmed was the Pakistani Commissioner of three Divisions in Baluchistan; from 1988 to 1999, he was a fellow of the Selwyn College, Cambridge; and from 1999 to 2000, he was the Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

He has appeared on Oprah three times, as well as on the BBC’s Living Islam (1993). Ahmed was born in Allahabad, India.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar_S._Ahmed