John L. Esposito, a prominent scholar of political Islam who sought to challenge widespread misconceptions about Muslims in the wake of major international crises, died on July 15 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. He was 86. His wife, Jeanette Esposito, said his death followed complications from heart surgery intended to unblock an artery.

Born in Brooklyn on May 19, 1940, Esposito was a practicing Catholic whose academic career was significantly influenced by the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. At times when American views of Islam were shaped by fear and conflict, Esposito worked to provide a more nuanced understanding of Islam’s role in society and politics.

Esposito’s entry into Islamic studies began during his doctoral work in Catholic theology at Temple University when he was encouraged to take a course on Islam taught by the Palestinian American scholar Ismail al-Faruqi. This experience led him to switch his focus, earning a Ph.D. in Islamic studies in 1974. He taught for two decades at the College of the Holy Cross before joining Georgetown University, where he was appointed University Professor in 2000.

In 1993, Esposito became the founding director of Georgetown’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which sought to foster interfaith dialogue and greater understanding between Muslim and Christian communities. The center later was renamed after a Saudi donor, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Esposito’s approachable style helped him engage with diverse audiences across the Muslim world, exemplified by meetings such as one in the late 1990s with a daughter of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, where they discussed women’s rights.

Esposito authored or edited over 50 books, tackling both scholarly and general audiences. Among his notable works are “What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam” (2002) and “The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World” (2009). He emphasized that Islam functions as a comprehensive way of life that integrates religion with governance, law, and society. He argued that political grievances in the Muslim world were largely tied to U.S. foreign policy, particularly its support for Israel and authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, rather than religion itself.

His work, however, attracted criticism from some scholars and commentators who accused him of downplaying the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism. Conservative author David Horowitz included Esposito in a list of “most dangerous academics” in 2006, claiming he minimized Islamist violence. Meanwhile, Middle East analyst Martin Kramer criticized U.S. scholars, including Esposito, for failing to anticipate the scale of the 9/11 attacks, suggesting they overlooked the potential for violence within Islamic movements.

Esposito disputed the notion that Islam was inherently violent, distinguishing between the faith and extremists like Al Qaeda. Drawing on extensive survey data in the 2007 book “Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” co-authored with Dalia Mogahed, he highlighted that a clear majority of Muslims worldwide rejected terrorism and supported peace, democracy, and gender equality.

In his later years, Esposito directed the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown, a research project monitoring Islamic bigotry and Islamophobia globally. He described Islamophobia as an irrational fear leading to discrimination and hate crimes, distinct from reasoned critique of Islamic teachings.

Esposito is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1965, and a brother, Richard. The couple split their time between a retirement community in Pennsylvania and Marco Island, Florida. His legacy includes decades of scholarship and engagement aimed at fostering understanding between Muslim and Western societies, especially during times of heightened tension.