Jamal J. Elias is a scholar and professor of Religious Studies who currently serves as the Special Advisor to the Provost of Aga Khan University.
Elias was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and attended Burn Hall School, St. Mary's Academy and Aitchison College.
[6] Elias also serves regularly as a consultant on legal and social issues related to the status of Muslims in America.
He has provided expert testimony on cases related to freedom of religion and expression, anti-Muslim bias, workers rights, immigration and asylum, and child custody.
One of the justifications offered for the continued detention of over three dozen of the Guantanamo captives was that they had participated in the activities of a Pakistani Islamic missionary group named Tablighi Jamaat.