John Esposito - In Remembrance
This obituary was kindly written and provided by Dr Sayyid M. Syeed and Sr Afeefa Syeed
John Esposito was a dear friend who earned my trust and admiration over many years. In some ways, I saw him as a twin brother, as we were the same age and, despite being born into different religious heritages - he a Catholic and I a Muslim- we shared a passion for seeing the world as a pluralistic, engaging, and ultimately uplifting one.
I first met him when he was finishing his Ph.D at Temple University in Philadelphia. I was the Secretary General of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), and Dr. Ismail R. Faruqi was at that time its President. He was also John’s doctoral advisor in the Department of Religion, and therefore I was well aware of John’s interest in religious studies and, as he delved deeper, as a scholar of Islam.
Since Dr. Faruqi first introduced us. I would meet John regularly and witness how he sincerely showed love and respect to me as a person, and as I became a part of his journey into learning about Islam. Besides information and knowledge, we had long conversations about how to build a community of both Muslims and Christians who had a sense of responsibility to explore genuine interfaith relationships.
After finishing his Ph. D and working in other campuses, he eventually landed a teaching job at Georgetown University in the mid 1990s. I was then Secretary General of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). As our relationship deepened, I started to invite him as a speaker at big and small events hosted by ISNA in the U.S. and Canada. He consistently spoke at these events as his own career as a scholar and expert on Islam and the West grew. All the while, and as he made more connections as a mentor and spokesperson, he genuinely earned the love and respect of Muslim community members.
In many venues and platforms, besides his prolific writings, he was not only addressing misconceptions of the religion, but he was also actively advocating for richer dialogue and understanding as he confronted, along with many of us, the disastrous outcomes of Islamophobia that developed after September 11, 2001. And, as John knew, while we as Muslims were enjoying America’s freedom of religion and religious pluralism, we were targets of prejudice and discrimination every day. John became, in many instances, a spokesman for Islam, and his work deserved unflinching support from Muslims.
In 2003, I led the effort to recognize John at the ISNA Founders Luncheon, a prestigious event at the annual ISNA Convention in Chicago. This was our chance to create a special, first-time recognition that I called the Abu Talib Award. This award - which was widely publicized and reported on - was to clearly signify to everyone that we have a respectable space within Islam where we recognize and appreciate the efforts of allies who stand, and many times sacrifice, to build mutual respect and cooperation amongst communities.
The award title Abu Talib refers to the name of Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, who did not convert to Islam but was an advocate, protector and genuine supporter of the fledgling Muslim community in Makkah. He stood solidly with our beloved Prophet and did not ask him to retract or soften his claims to work for a more just society, and continued to express his love and affection even while other relatives and community members did the opposite.
The title I gave infuriated some Muslims, and some sent letters of protest to me. They argued that if he were truly an admirer of Islam and a good friend of mine, then he should accept Islam. According to them, my support for him was un-Islamic. Understandably, John was sad when he himself received these belligerent messages asking him to accept Islam or renounce the recognition and respect that we were giving him.
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On the other hand, a tragic situation took place when a European Evangelical Christian extremist felt that there was an Islamic conspiracy at hand. He alleged that Muslims were increasing their numbers, building their communities in the West, and taking over traditional Christian homelands. This militant extremist quoted me as giving the title Abu Talib to John and therefore asserted that we were somehow co-opting prominent Christian scholars to promote Islam. This man eventually perpetrated a massacre of a dozen Muslims in one of the Scandinavian countries.
Over the years, John and I would talk about the hate mail we each received from our own communities as well as from outside. One time, we sat together to look at these notes, and he shared how despondent he felt. I conveyed to him that it saddened me as well, but our work to build a pluralist worldview cannot be dissuaded by unjustified or undeserved hate. I tore up a letter sent to me to show him symbolically how I felt about the sentiment of the writer.
As part of the leadership of national and international Muslim networks, I was able to assist in organizing conferences in various countries where we introduced John to friends and supporters who were leaders and advocates for pluralism in their own societies. I recall that in Pakistan, he was invited to speak along with his colleague, Professor Yvonne Haddad, another non-Muslim who had deep expertise in Islam. Even as the organizers were promoting their presence, some demonstrators came to the airport in Islamabad with signs and banners expressing their opposition to what they considered people who should not be given a platform if they had not accepted Islam as their faith.
In response, however, these fickle gestures on behalf of narrow-minded and reactionary critics brought John and our joint efforts into focus. The institutions and scholars involved in welcoming John persisted in including this much-needed voice in their programs and meetings, and this helped build further the movement towards interfaith understanding and respect.
His scores of books became popular and helped us build bridges amongst a variety of institutions and visionary individuals. And through it all, John never swerved from expressing his genuine and authentic love for his Muslim brothers and sisters.
Something I remember distinctly on this note is that John had spoken hundreds of times in our conferences without ever asking for or expecting reimbursement or a fee. At one particular conference, we gave him, without his asking, a check of $5,000 as a fee for his speech. But in the fundraising portion of the program, when the speaker made an appeal to the audience for pledges and cash, to my surprise, I saw a check for a $5,000 donation signed by him and his dear wife Jean, who was also in attendance.
John and I started as personal friends; my children called him Uncle John. He earned my undivided trust and confidence, and he gained global appreciation as a bridge builder. He has left this world with my love, respect, and as a pious spirit beyond any classifications we might put on him. I have lost a dear brother, but our hearts continue to be aligned.
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