John Esposito, Scholar Who Built U.S. Islamic Studies, Dies at 86

John L. Esposito, a Georgetown professor who founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in 1993 and wrote over 50 books on Islam, died July 15, 2026, at 86. A Catholic scholar trained under Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi, he was mourned by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as "a true friend of the Islamic world."