T. B. Irving

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Born in Preston, Ontario (now Cambridge) in 1914, Irving embraced Islam in the early 1950s and took the name Al-Hajj Ta'lim Abu Nasr.

Irving earned a B.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Toronto, and went on to obtain a master's degree from McGill University, and a Ph.D in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.

An accomplished scholar of linguistics and a writer, Dr. Irving was responsible for the first American English translation of the Qur'an, "The Qur'an: First American Version", published in 1985. As a scholar, Irving taught and studied at a number of leading universities in the U.S. and Canada, including McGill, Princeton, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Tennessee.

As an author, Dr. Irving wrote numerous books on Islam, including "Had You Been Born A Muslim", "Islam and Its Essence", "Islam Resurgent", and "Growing up in Islam". He also penned a small number of books in Spanish, including "Nacido Commo Musulman" and " Cautiverio Babilonicoen Andalusia".

From 1981 to 1986, Dr. Irving served as the dean of the American Islamic College in Chicago. He was recognized for his service to Islam by the government of Pakistan in 1983 when he was awarded the Star of Excellence. He died on September 24, 2002, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

External links

* [http://soundvision.com/info/scholars/irvingdeath.asp Obituary for T.B. Irving] from Soundvision.com
* [http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15102002/1510200232.htm A Life Well Lived] Tribute to Dr. Irving
* [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/irving1.htm Islam and Columbus' America] article by Dr. Irving