Dr. Joel Craig Richmond

Dr. Joel Craig Richmond is an Assistant Professor in PMU’s Core Curriculum Program in the College of Sciences and Human Studies. He specializes in Islamic ethics, focusing on virtue theory in the thought of al-Ghazālī, while engaging both classical and contemporary philosophical questions. His previous experience includes teaching at Toronto Metropolitan University and University of Toronto.

As an educator, his goal with students is to create a learning environment that emphasizes diverse paradigms and promotes cross-cultural learning and understanding. In addition to supporting the development of a globally defined consciousness in the classroom, the learning environment he seeks to create ensures that students see a world where every person’s view matters. He seeks not to establish a consensus or one worldview, but to promote healthy dialogue, encourage empathy, and to deepen students’ understanding of our collective diversity. With the aid of the course materials, his aim is to consciously engage different perspectives and raise awareness of the historical frameworks that have shaped our understanding of the subjects in the humanities.

Education

2021 Ph.D., Religion, University of Toronto (Department for the Study of Religion)
2014 M.A., Religion, University of Toronto (Department for the Study of Religion)
2012 Honours B.A., Near & Middle Eastern Studies, University of Toronto
*Conferred with High Distinction

Select Publications

Monograph:

Richmond, Joel Craig. Al-Ghazālī’s Moral Psychology: From Self-Control to Self-Surrender. Monographs in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 2025.

Book Chapter

“Practical Muslim Theodicy: A Ghazalian Perspective on Emotional Pain.” In From the Divine to the Human: Contemporary Islamic Thinkers on Evil, Suffering, and the Global Pandemic, edited by Muhammad Faruque and Mohammed Rustom, 164–177. New York: Routledge, 2023.

Professional History:

Assistant Professor, Core Curriculum Program
2024–Present      Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Lecturer

2023     Toronto Metropolitan University

Teaching Assistant
2018–2021     University of Toronto

Research Assistant / Copyeditor and Arabic Reviewer
2021–2022 al-Ghazālī Translation Series, Fons Vitae

Courses Taught at PMU

ALIS 2212 – The Biography of Prophet Muḥammad

ALIS 1212 – Social System in Islam

UNIV 1212 – Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

COMM 1311 – Written Communication

COMM 2312 – Technical and Professional Communication

Research Interests & Links

Islamic Ethics; Contemporary Ethics; al-Ghazālī; Traditions of iḥsān
https://www.pmu.academia.edu/JoelRichmond