Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies

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Ph.D. – Comparative Theology, Regis College, University of Toronto, 2026 M.T.S. – Emmanuel College, Victoria University in the University of Toronto, 2021 Candidate of Philosophical Sciences (Ph.D. equivalent) – Philosophy of Religion, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 2012 M.S. – Philosophy, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 2009 B.S. – Arabic Studies, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 2006

Areas of Specialization: Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Comparative Theology, Sufism and Islamic Spirituality, Religion and Science, Religious Experience and Mysticism, Said Nursi Studies, Bernard Lonergan Studies, and Interreligious Dialogue

Dr. Albert Frolov is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Respect Graduate School. His research lies at the intersection of Islamic thought, comparative theology, philosophy of religion, and the philosophy and history of science. A central concern of his scholarship is the relationship between rational inquiry and religious or mystical experience, particularly in the works of Muslim and Christian thinkers.

Dr. Frolov completed his Ph.D. in Comparative Theology at Regis College in the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. His dissertation, Bernard Lonergan (1904–1984) and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1876–1960) on Religious-Mystical Experience: A Comparative Study, examines the epistemological and theological foundations of religious-mystical experience through a comparative study of Bernard Lonergan and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.

He previously earned a Master of Theological Studies from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, where his thesis explored the dialogical theologies of Bernard Lonergan, Paul Tillich, and Said Nursi. He also holds a Candidate of Philosophical Sciences degree, equivalent to a Ph.D., from al-Farabi Kazakh National University, where his doctoral research focused on dialogue and tolerance in the thought of Fethullah Gülen.

Before joining Respect Graduate School, Dr. Frolov held academic and research appointments at the University of Toronto, Villanova University, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and Suleyman Demirel University. He has taught courses in Islamic philosophy, philosophy and history of science, world philosophy, faith and reason, sociology, and Arabic, and currently teaches in the areas of Islamic studies and philosophy.

Dr. Frolov is the author or co-author of several books published in Russian, including works on Islamic philosophy, Prophetic traditions, and interreligious dialogue. His scholarship reflects a longstanding engagement with Islamic intellectual traditions, religious thought, comparative theology, and dialogue across religious and philosophical traditions.

His peer-reviewed scholarship has appeared in the International Philosophical Quarterly, the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies, the Journal of Interreligious Studies, and the Toronto Journal of Theology. His articles and book chapters address such themes as Avicenna’s epistemology, Said Nursi’s critique of waḥdat al-wujūd, comparative theological methodology, religious mysticism, and interreligious dialogue.

Dr. Frolov is also co-editor, with Lucinda Mosher, of Reading Risale-i Nur in the 21st Century: Ethical, Social, and Spiritual Dimensions.

His current research focuses on the epistemology of religious experience, the relationship between scientific and religious reasoning, and possibilities for dialogue between classical and modern Islamic thought and contemporary Western philosophy. His broader scholarly interests include Islamic spirituality and taṣawwuf, comparative philosophy and theology, and the relationship between rationality, faith, and spiritual experience.

Selected Publications

Books

• Islamic Philosophy: A New Approach. 2010. In Russian.
• One Hundred Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. 2010. In Russian.
• Islamic Philosophy: Textbook for Universities. 2013. In Russian.
• Toward Dialogue Through the Prism of Islam. 2014. In Russian.

Edited Volume

• Reading Risale-i Nur in the 21st Century: Ethical, Social, and Spiritual Dimensions. Co-edited with Lucinda Mosher.

Selected Research Areas in Published Scholarship

• Avicenna’s epistemology and Islamic philosophy
• Said Nursi’s critique of waḥdat al-wujūd
• Comparative theological methodology
• Religious and mystical experience
• Religion, science, and rational inquiry
• Interreligious dialogue