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Professor Paul L. Heck is a distinguished scholar in Islamic studies at Georgetown University, where he serves in the Department of Theology within the College of Arts & Sciences. He is the founding director of the Study of Religions Across Civilizations (SORAC), a program dedicated to fostering interreligious and intercultural dialogue between the United States and the Muslim world, with a particular focus on Morocco.

Dr. Heck's academic pursuits encompass a wide range of topics, including the history of skepticism in Islam, mysticism and spirituality in Muslim societies, concepts of martyrdom across the Abrahamic faiths, the phenomenon of theo-humanism, comparative scripture studies, and political theology. He is also the founder of the Theo-Humanism Project (THP), affiliated with Georgetown's Humanities Initiative, which explores the relationship between religious reasoning and academic inquiry.

Dr. Heck has authored several influential works, including Political Theology and Islam: From the Rise of Empire to the Modern State (2023), Skepticism in Classical Islam: Moments of Confusion (2013), and Common Ground: Islam, Christianity, and Religious Pluralism (2009). He earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago and was a member of the Society of Fellows at Princeton University.

Beyond his academic endeavors, Professor Heck is actively involved in promoting interfaith understanding and has extensive experience engaging with Muslim communities worldwide. ​