James A. Toronto

James Albert Toronto (born 1951) is a professor of Arabic language and Islamic religion at Brigham Young University (BYU). He was previously a professor of comparative religion at the same institution. His research interests and publications deal with Islamic education, Muslim immigration in Europe, History of the LDS Church in Italy, and LDS missiology in the Ottoman Empire.

Biography

Toronto was born in Indio, California, to Robert F. Toronto. James Toronto is a descendant of the early Joseph Toronto. As a young man, Toronto also served as a missionary in Italy.

Toronto received his BA in English with minors in history and Italian from BYU. He then received his MA and PhD in Islamic and Arabic Studies from Harvard University.

Besides being a faculty member at BYU, Toronto has served as assistant director of BYU's David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies and for three years was the director of BYU's Center for Cultural and Educational Affairs in Amman, Jordan. He has served in various other capacities, such as Coordinator of the Middle East Studies/Arabic (MESA) program at BYU; on the planning committee for the BYU-sponsored conference on “Islam in America” held at Brigham Young University on March 17, 2005; organized and supervised the international conference entitled “Religions and Constitutional Transitions in the Muslim Mediterranean: The Pluralistic Moment” held at Insubria University, Como, Italy from June 3-5, 2014; organized the Rocky Mountain Model Arab League regional conference at BYU on February 14-15, 2020; and provided academic expertise and counsel on several committees of the Church of Jesus Christ involved with policy formation and outreach to Muslim communities in the U.S. and abroad (2005–2020).

Toronto has written several articles on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in both Italy and the Middle-East. He also edited and annotated the journals of Wilford Booth, which were published in 2004.

Toronto is married to the former Diane Gillett. They are the parents of two children.

He was the president of the Provo Utah Sharon East Stake from 1999 to 2007. Toronto has served as president of the Church's Italy Catania Mission from 2007–2010. He and his wife will serve as president and matron of the Rome Italy Temple beginning in September 2022.

References

• Church News, October 16, 1999; April 14, 2007.