Karen Armstrong is one of the world's foremost commentators on religious affairs.
She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun in the 1960s but left her teaching order in 1969. She studied English literature at Oxford University.
Since then she has taught modern literature at the University of London, headed the English department in a girls' public school and taught part-time at the Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism and the Training of Rabbis and Teachers.
Since 1982, she has devoted her life to writing, lecturing, and broadcasting on religious affairs.
Her bestselling books include Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World; Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet; Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths; In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis; The Battle For God: A History of Fundamentalism; Islam: A Short History; Buddha; A History of God and her two volumes of autobiography, Through The Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into forty languages.
She is also the author of three television documentaries and took part in the television series Genesis.
In 1999 she was awarded the Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award. Since September 11, 2001, she has been a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers, periodicals, and other media on both sides of the Atlantic on the subject of Islam and fundamentalism. She lives in London.
She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun in the 1960s but left her teaching order in 1969. She studied English literature at Oxford University.
Since then she has taught modern literature at the University of London, headed the English department in a girls' public school and taught part-time at the Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism and the Training of Rabbis and Teachers.
Since 1982, she has devoted her life to writing, lecturing, and broadcasting on religious affairs.
Her bestselling books include Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World; Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet; Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths; In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis; The Battle For God: A History of Fundamentalism; Islam: A Short History; Buddha; A History of God and her two volumes of autobiography, Through The Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into forty languages.
She is also the author of three television documentaries and took part in the television series Genesis.
In 1999 she was awarded the Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award. Since September 11, 2001, she has been a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers, periodicals, and other media on both sides of the Atlantic on the subject of Islam and fundamentalism. She lives in London.