Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs as a visiting scholar. In the winter of 2012, he was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago teaching intellectual and religious history of modern Iran. Philosophy Soroush is primarily interested in the philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, the philosophical system of Molana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi) and comparative philosophy. He is a world expert on Rumi and Persian Sufi poetry. The philosophy of Abdolkarim Soroush can be summarized as follows: Distinction between "religion" and our "understanding of religion". Distinction between "essential" and "accidental" aspects of religion. Distinction between "minimalist" and "maximalist" interpretation of Islam. Distinction between values and morals that are considered internal in respect to Islam and those that are external. Distinction between Religious "belief" and Religious "faith". Distinction between religion as an ideology/identity and religion of truth. Epistemology Soroush's main contribution to Islamic philosophy is his interpretation of the Kantian distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge. His theory is called "the theoretical contraction and expansion of religious knowledge" and is primarily based on Kantian philosophy. Soroush maintains that one should distinguish between religion as divinely revealed and the interpretation of religion or religious knowledge which is based on socio-historical factors. The essence of religion, is conceived by Soroush as independent from experience while religious knowledge is understood as a finite, limited, and fallible form of human knowledge, thus depending on empirical evidence. Religious "belief" and religious "faith" Faith cannot be compulsory. As he told one interviewer, "True believers must embrace their faith of their own free will - not because it was imposed, or inherited, or part of the dominant local culture. To become a believer under pressure or coercion isn't true belief.'" This also means that the believer "must ... remain free to leave his faith." At Oxford, Soroush was heavily influenced by Iranian philosopher Komeil Sadeghi, to whom he has dedicated one of his books Expansion of Prophetic Experience. Soroush's political theory Soroush's political theory is in line with the modern tradition from Locke to the framers of the American constitution. It portrays human beings as weak and susceptible to temptation, even predation. As such, they need a vigilant and transparent form of government. He believes that the assumption of innate goodness of mankind, shared by radical Utopians from anarchists to Islamic fundamentalists underestimates the staying power of social evil and discounts the necessity of