Perhaps in more peaceful times, we would not fully recognize the "hero in our midst," as one colleague refers to Law Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl. But since Sept. 11, scholars, students, the media, filmmakers and agencies such as the U.S. State Department call daily on Abou El Fadl's counsel and expertise.

Abou El Fadl is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Fellow in Islamic Law and is recognized as one of the leading authorities in Islamic law in the United States and Europe. Most recently he was awarded the Fredric P. Sutherland Public Interest Award by the School of Law for his dedication to international human rights and his leadership in Human Rights Watch, the Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

In presenting the honor, Law Professor Ann Carlson said, "What is so remarkable about Khaled ... is that virtually all of his professional and personal life is devoted to a subject that is so deeply within the public interest."

Besides teaching Islamic, Middle Eastern investment and immigration law and courses related to human rights and terrorism, Abou El Fadl also is the faculty sponsor of the UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law. He's published four popular books this past year in addition to his scholarly works, which are banned in some Muslim countries. His latest work, "Reasoning With God: Rationality and Thought in Islam," is scheduled for a December release.

As a child in Kuwait and Egypt, Abou El Fadl memorized long passages of the Koran and then critically traced the messages to historical documentation and, later, to comparative literature and tomes of philosophy and law.

He has witnessed -- and written about -- boyhood friends who were arrested and tortured for their beliefs. After publishing pro-democracy poems and essays while living in the Middle East in the 1980s, Abou El Fadl was himself hunted and persecuted by security forces. When things looked particularly hopeless one day, he made a solemn oath to God that if he were given safe flight to a country where he could enjoy free expression, he would speak with clarity and see that others were protected, too.

His safe passage came in the form of a student visa to study in the United States, where Abou El Fadl received degrees from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He practiced immigration and investment law in both the United States and the Middle East while a Princeton doctoral candidate in Islamic studies.

Abou El Fadl continues to counsel and represent, often on a pro-bono basis, immigrants who seek political asylum.

And for 20 years he has made good on his promise by teaching, speaking and writing about Islamic law, even though doing so has in some cases led to threats to his personal security.

"Frankly, I cannot afford to think too much about the threats or what they mean," Abou El Fadl said. "Fear kills in the most torturous and prolonged way.

"Since becoming a coward is not an option, I can do my best to stay safe, but beyond that one must let go."