Akbar, Ali: - Dr. Ali Akbar is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia where he received his PhD in Islamic Studies. He is an expert in the fields of Islamic Studies with a focus on contemporary Islamic thought and Middle Eastern politics as well as Iranian politics with a focus on Iran's foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond. He is co-author of Iran's Soft Power in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) as well as lead author of Contemporary Approaches to the Qur'an and Its Interpretation in Iran (Routledge, 2020) and sole author of Contemporary Perspectives on Revelation and Qur'anic Hermeneutics (Edinburgh University Press, 2020). In addition to these books, Dr. Akbar has published extensively in top-tier journals including Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, British Journal of Middle East Studies, Iranian Studies, Mediterranean Politics, Third Word Quarterly and Political Theology.