Zackery Mirza Heern
Professor of History - Middle East, Islam, World History, Religion
Director of Global Studies
Associate Dean for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Arts and Letters
Office: Business Administration Building, Office 249
Education
Ph.D., University of Utah, History
M.A., University of Utah, Middle East Studies
B.A., UCLA, History
Research and Teaching Interests
Middle East, Islam, World History, Iran, Iraq, Shi士ism, Bábí and Bahá’í studies, Arabic, Persian
Books
The Emergence of Modern Shi‘ism: Islamic Reform in Iraq and Iran. London: Oneworld Publications, 2015.
Shi‘i Law and Leadership: The Influence of Mortaza Ansari. Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
“Shi士i Activism and British Imperialism in the Making of the Iraqi State,” Journal of the Middle East and Africa, 2024
“The B膩b and 士Al墨 Mu岣mmad, Islamic and Post-Islamic: Multiple Meanings in the Writings of Sayyid 士Al墨 Mu岣mmad Sh墨r膩z墨 (1819– 1850),” Religions, 2023.
“Mu岣mmad B膩qir al-峁dr (d. 1980),” The Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Edited by Kate Fleet, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2022: 23-28.
“Mu岣mmad B膩qir al-Majlis墨 (d. 1110/1698),” The Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Edited by Kate Fleet, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2022: 84-90.
“Shi士i Educational Traditions and Systems in Early Modern Iraq and Iran,” in History of Early Modern Educational Thought. Edited by Cristiano Casalini, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2021.
“Mu岣mmad B膩qir Khw膩ns膩r墨 (1811-1895),” The Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Edited by Kate Fleet, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2020: 97-98.
“Ijtihad and Anti-Ijtihad in Shi士i History,” in Ijtihad and Taqlid: Past, Present, and Future. Birmingham: Al-Mahdi Institute, 2019.
“Mu岣mmad Ibr膩h墨m Kalb膩s墨 (1766–1845),” The Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Edited by Kate Fleet, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2019: 79-80.
“膧yatall膩h Ab奴 l-Q膩sim K膩sh膩n墨 (1882–1962),” The Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Edited by Kate Fleet, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2019: 90-92.
“Three Sources of Shi士i Knowledge and Authority: Texts, Reason, and Mysticism in Islamic Intellectual History,” Journal of Shi士a Islamic Studies. Winter-Spring 2018 Vol. XI, No. 1-2, pp. 43-78.
“One Thousand Years of Islamic Education in Najaf: Myth and History of the Shi‘i Hawza,” Iranian Studies. Vol. 50, Issue 3, 2017, pp. 415-438
“Thou Shalt Emulate the Most Knowledgeable Living Cleric: Redefinition of Islamic Law and Authority in Usuli Shi‘ism,” Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies. Vol. VII, No. 3, Summer 2014, pp. 321-344.
“Minority Religions in the Middle East: 1250-1920,” in Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, Edited by Andrea L. Stanton, et. al. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2012, pp. 159-162.
Selected Public-Facing Articles
“” The Conversation, 2017.
“Iran’s Presidential Elections and Renewed Efforts to Release Baha示i Leaders,” Muftah, 2017.
“Understanding the Emergence of Modern Shi士ism,” Your Middle East, 2015.
“Iranian Ayatollah Defends Baha示i Rights and Goes Head-to-Head with the Regime,” Your Middle East and Iran Press Watch, 2014.
“Empty Charm or Game Changing Substance? How to Read Iran,” World Affairs Journal and Your Middle East, 2013.
“Propaganda of Death Becomes Reality for Baha示is in Iran,” Your Middle East, 2013.
“Iran’s Human Rights Crisis and the Baha示i Faith,” Your Middle East, 2013.
Courses Taught
ARBC 1101 Elementary Arabic I
ARBC 1102 Elementary Arabic II
HIST 1102 World History II
HIST 2254 Middle East History and Culture
HIST 4419/5519 History of World Religions
HIST 4476/5576 Modern Middle East
HIST 4454/5554 Modern Iraq and Iran
HIST 4474/5574 Islam in the Modern World
HIST 4440/5540 History of Revolutions
HIST 4491 Seminar
HIST 6600 Proseminar