The Legacy of Wilfred Cantwell Smith

This article was originally part of a panel at the Toronto Parliament of the World’s Religions on the legacy of Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1916–2000). A Toronto native, Professor Smith was the most important Canadian scholar of religion in the twentieth century. He founded the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University and directed the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University. In this article, I examine his legacy with respect to the study of Islam and Muslims, and how that work helps us to move forward in the twenty-first century.