Dr. Alexander Treiger

Professor

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Biography

Raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Alexander Treiger began his academic career in Jerusalem, where he completed his BA in Arabic Islamic Studies and an MA in Comparative Religion, focusing on Greek Patristics. His Master’s thesis analyzed the medieval translation of Dionysius Areopagite’s Mystical Theology into Arabic. He received his PhD in Arabic Islamic Studies from Yale University, where his dissertation explored the concept of 'divine disclosure' in the writings of the influential Muslim theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. Teaching at Dalhousie University since 2008, his current research focuses on Christian literature in Arabic, classical Sufism, medieval Arabic philosophy, and Graeco-Arabic Studies. He is particularly interested in the historical transmission of philosophical, theological, ascetic, and mystical ideas during Late Antiquity and early Islam. Treiger has published major works including 'Inspired Knowledge in Islamic Thought: Al-Ghazali’s Theory of Mystical Cognition on an Avicennian Foundation' (2012), 'Church Fathers in Arabic Translations' (2025), and co-edited volumes such as 'Orthodox Church and the Arab World (700–1700)' (2014) and 'Patristic Literature in Arabic Translations' (2020). He is also the editor of the book series 'Arabic Christianity: Texts and Studies.'

Research Interests

Courses

RELS 1002 Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Abrahamic Religions RELS 2003 Islam RELS 2281 Christian Beginnings: Orthodox and Oriental Churches RELS 3009 Christianity in Lands of Islam RELS 3012 Mystics of the Middle East RELS 4010 Islamic Philosophy: al-Ghazali RELS 4018 Christian Theology in Islamic Lands: John of Damascus RELS 4019 Philo Judaeus RELS 4401 Philosophy of Greek Church Fathers (topic: Gregory Nyssa)