Biography
Aweis A. Ali, PhD, is a Somali American missiologist, poet and paremiologist.
Aweis, an ordained elder, is employed by the General Board as a Mission Director for the Horn of Africa. Former employers include the Somali Government, EU, UNICEF, UNOSOM and Samaritan's Purse.
Aweis is an authority on the persecuted church in the Muslim world with unique expertise on the Somali Church; he has been ministering in the Muslim world since 1993. Aweis has lived and served in world areas that include the Horn of Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and the United States.
Aweis earned a BTh degree from the Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa; an MDiv degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He holds a PhD from Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi.
Aweis is the Series Editor of the annual Maansada Masiixa (Anthology of Somali Christian Poetry) and the Editor in Chief of the Somali Bible Society Journal, the official biannual publication of the Somali Bible Society.
Published works:
BOOKS as an author, editor or translator
1. Aasaaska Diinteenna (The Foundation of Our Faith)
2. Maansada Masiixa (Anthology of Somali Christian Poetry), Volume 1
3. Maansada Masiixa (Anthology of Somali Christian Poetry), Volume 2
4. Maansada Masiixa (Anthology of Somali Christian Poetry), Volume 3
5. Injiilka Shariifka Ah (The Noble Gospel)
6. Rag iyo Rabbi - Men and God: Somali Poetry on Peace
7. A Proverb is Worth a Thousand Words: A Paremiography From Around the World.
8. Injiilka Sayid Ciise Masiix (The Gospel of Lord Jesus Christ)
PAPERS
1. Dispelling the Myth: Martin Luther's Priesthood of all Believers, ARJESS
2. A Brief History of Christian Missions in Somalia, ARJESS
3. Thriving Under the Sword: How the Somali Church Overcomes the Challenges of Persecution, SBS Journal
4. Courage in Our Conviction: A Conversation with Pastor Shafi'i, SBS Journal
5. Modrickers Ma Maqasheen? Have You Heard of the Modrickers? (A Poem),SBS Journal
6. The Case for Denominationally Based Ministries Among Somalis, EMQ
7. The Blood of Christians is Seed: The 5th Gospel and the Growth of the Church, SBS Journal
8. A Brief History of Judaism in the Somali Peninsula, SBS Journal
9. A Brief History of Christianity in the Somali Peninsula, SBS Journal
10. The Greatest Missionaries to the Somalis: The Heroes of 1881-1981, SBS Journal
11. Ila Goco Groves: Reminisce about the Groves with me (A Poem), SBS Journal.
Research Interests
Comparative Religion, Church History, Church and State, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle Ages, Persecution of Christians, Islamic Studies, Islamic History, Eastern Christianity, Middle Eastern Christianity, Islam & Mdernity
Affiliations
Africa Nazarene University, School of Religion and Christian Ministry, Alumnus