Wael Hegazy
About:
Background
I am Arabic Language Lecturer at the Religious Studies Department. I have obtained my Ph.D. from the Religious studies department at UCSB and my Masters from Al-Azhar University in Egypt. My study is on Islamic and Arabic studies with a special focus on Digital Islam, virtual Ummah, and Online Muslim communities in the US.
Publications:
– “Whispers of the Divine: Dreams and their Contested Place in Sunni Islamic Legal Tradition”. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, May 2025, https://philolinginvestigations.com/index.php/journal/article/view/550.
– “Muslim Online Prayer in a Socio-Cultural Context”. CyberOrient, Vol. 14, Iss. 2, 2020, pp. 64-84. https://cyberorient.net/2020/12/15/muslim-online-prayer-in-a-sociocultural-context/
– “The Salience of Saintliness in Islam”. Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf dan Pemikiran Islam. June 2021. http://jurnalfuf.uinsby.ac.id/index.php/teosofi/article/view/1600
– Mohammad Habib in “Christian-Muslim Relations, A Bibliographical History, (1800-1915)”. Brill, Volume 18, November 2021. https://brill.com/view/title/59587
– “Review: The Digital Social: Religion and Belief. Journal of Religion Media and Digital Culture. November 2021, Brill. DOI: 10.1163/21659214-bja10053. https://brill.com/view/journals/rmdc/10/3/article-p471_471.xml
– Review: Cyber Sufis: Virtual Expressions of the American Muslim Experience (Islam in the Twenty-First Century). CyberOrient, Vol. 14, Iss. 2, 2020, pp. 99-103. https://cyberorient.net/2020/12/15/review-cyber-sufis-virtual-expressions-of-the-american-muslim-experience-islam-in-the-twenty-first-century/
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Sainthood in Religious, Social and Political Context: A Comparative Study Between Egyptian and Pakistani Sufi Models, Ahl Al-Suffa, Vol., 1, 2022, pp. 197-232. https://ahlalsuffa.com/index.php/asshs/article/view/2
- “Digital Islamic Authority and Muslim Identity within the Western Context.” International Journal of Islamic Thought 27 (June 2025): 171–179. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.27.2025.325.
Scholarships & Awards
- Summer 2022: Ostad Elahi Fellowship Award (AY 2022-23) in the field of comparative philosophy of religion, religious concepts of the afterlife, and religious practices that are inner-directed, from the Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Spring 2022: Charles Wendell Memorial Award for Academic achievement in the field of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies by the Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Spring 2021: Graduate Student Research Award from UCSB Center for Middle East Studies
- Summer 2020: Graduate Student Research Award from UCSB Center for Middle East Studies
- Fall 2018: Fellowship from the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education to study Ph.D. at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2018.
- Winter 2007: Grant of the Ideal Student from the University of al-Azhar.
- Fall 2006: Grant of Excellence for the Egyptian Azhari students from the Kuwaiti government.
Courses Taught:
UCSB
- Arabic I and III (Fall 2024)
- Arabic II and V (Winter 2025)
- TA Islam and Modernity (Spring 2023)
- TA Summer 2021: INT 95A – The Modern Research University
- TA Summer 2021: Research Mentorship Program (RMP)
Azhar (Egypt)
- 2nd Semester, 2018: Islamic Philosophy
- 1st Semester, 2018: Comparative Religions
- 2nd Semester, 2017: Islamic Law
- 1st Semester, 2017: Islamic Culture and Orientalism
- 2nd Semester, 2016: Islamic Civilization
- 1st Semester, 2016: Qur’anic Sciences
