On Thursday 9 March 2023, Prof. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Senior Research Fellow at the IIS, attended a ceremony to mark his official entry Order of the Légion d’Honneur. He was officially appointed Chevalier in the Order by President Emmanuel Macron on 14 July 2022.
During the ceremony, Prof. Amir-Moezzi was presented with his medal in the presence of family and friends.
The Légion d’Honneur, or Order of Merit has been awarded since 1802 to people who have contributed to the influence and glory of France at a national or international level. The Chevalier is the highest honorary distinction of the five categories of the Légion d’Honneur.
Professor M. A. Amir-Moezzi is a specialist of Shi'i Imami theology and history, Quranic studies, Islamic mysticism and classical Persian poetry. In 1984, he was elected Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne) and since 1994, he is full Professor and the holder of the prestigious chair "Exegesis and Theology", occupied before him by L.Massignon, H.Corbin and D.Gimaret.
He was the author of the IIS publication, The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam, Beliefs and Practices in 2011.
Prof. Amir-Moezzi, is decorated in recognition of his forty years of service in higher education and research and the scientific excellence of his work, which has been translated into several languages and recognised worldwide.