Christopher S. Taylor is Professor of Religion and Islamic Studies at Drew University in Madison, N.J.  He is also the Director of the Drew University Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict.  A specialist in Islamic Studies, Dr. Taylor earned his B.A. in History from the Johns Hopkins University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton.  He has previously served as the Acting Executive Director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) at the American University in Cairo and on the faculty of Yale University.  Dr. Taylor’s research focuses broadly on the social history of religion in the Islamic Middle
East.  He is the author of numerous articles and a book on the
veneration of Muslim saints.  His current research interests focus on radical Islamic movements and the failure of traditional Islamic religious leadership to challenge them.  Dr. Taylor has lived and traveled extensively in various parts of the Middle East.  He has led 16 programs in the region for Drew students.