Category Archives: Sufism

Journal of Sufi Studies

Anthropology/Sociology, Islamic Texts, Literature, Sufism


Brill has just announced the inaugural issue of a new publication, the Journal of Sufi Studies. The first issue is currently available free online. the following excerpt is from the editor’s introduction:

While the academic study of Sufism has a relatively long and productive pedigree in both western and Islamic academic discourses, in recent years the mainstay philological, philosophical and literary approaches to the subject have begun to give way to a much wider array of approaches drawn from across the humanities and social sciences. In the new conversational vistas and cross-fertilizations attendant to the study of the subject that such a situation portends, it would appear that the time is now ripe for sentiment to give way to assurance. What can, for example, anthropologists bring to the table which might be of interest to art historians? How might the insights of those dealing with philosophical discourse inform the work of those interested in cultural history? How and in what ways might a study devoted to pre-modern Sufi communities be usefully placed alongside one investigating globalized Sufi networks in modern times? While disciplinary territoriality and parochialism might been seen as posing difficulties to an effort seeking to link together scholarly engagements produced in different academic arenas, creating a space for genuine conversation and cross-fertilization on a subject of shared interest is not necessarily as arduous as it may sound. This, especially when dealing with a subject as amendable to a general multivocality, scholarly or otherwise, as that which this journal looks to engage.

It is precisely such a space which the Journal of Sufi Studies looks to create: an international scholarly forum for research on Sufism which, in taking an expansive view of the subject, brings together all disciplinary perspectives so as to promote a wide understanding of the richly variegated Sufi tradition in both thought and practice and in its cultural and social contexts. By providing a forum for academic research of the highest caliber on any and all denotable instances of Sufism wherever they may be situated, the journal looks to make a distinctive contribution to current scholarship on Sufism and its integration into the broader field of Islamic studies. As such, it is the fervent hope of the editors that this journal will come to serve as a meaningful outlet for the field of Sufi studies, one which fosters, shapes and energizes the efforts of those researchers who have ventured to engage one or another instantiation of the particularly persistent feature of the Islamic tradition which is Sufism, and in doing so contribute to those processes which are presently shaping the contours of the field itself.

Eliminating Islamophobia

Islam in America, Islamophobia, Qur'an, Sufism


Photo:Metropolitan Museum of Art

by Misha Habib

America has changed so much since my adolescence. Growing up as an American bred a very different outlook on life from the breeding it is providing today. And it is a shame because America is a piece of land that made a promise to allow everyone to speak the truth; to do whatever it takes to find the truth and to fearlessly defend the truth no matter what the consequences.

When I look back over the last decade I see one of the unfortunate consequences of its moral degradation…

To create national support for an enemy, the last decade has been spent breeding hatred and resentment against a symbol.

Accumulating support to annihilate the enemy was strategized along the lines similar to the ones used for the Soviet Union. In a hurry, the symbol chosen accidently represented far more people than they initially estimated. And as time began to show they really had no idea what the power of that symbol held.

By the time someone realized this symbol has far more strength than the iron curtain…
By the time someone realized their own people would spend their lives fighting for sanctity of this symbol.
By the time they realized it was too late…

America had become a victim of Islamophobia

The objective was to unite the nation against a common enemy- whether fear, vengeance or accumulating oil was the reason is irrelevant- we might eradicate the enemy and we might find alternative energy sources, but we most definitely have a new problem.

The US government likes to plan for the worst and hope for the best. The reality is that breeding a decade of hatred has led to what the government probably fears may have accidentally sown the seeds of a situation they never intended.

American children have witnessed countless displays of hate towards Islam and all its associated parts. Whether it be towards the person sitting next to them in the subway or instructions warning them not to play with the potentially evil Muslim children; worse if a family member, neighbor or any soldier the child cared about died on the battlefield fighting the evil Muslim enemy, the child has dealt with the loss on the reassurance that the sacrifice was for a good cause.

Media in a lot of ways does rule the world- and the American media has a significant control over the national minds. When I watch an American movie or television miniseries and a visual displays the sounds of the azaan (call to prayer), followed by hoards of people bowing down in worship I know something bad or violent is about to be introduced onto the screen. Whether it is Hollywood or American television productions the last decade has made something very clear- Arabic words, Arabic sounds, veils, beards and Islamic forms of worship- all these things represent evil.

Ten years of subliminal messages are a powerful enemy to fight.

In the last decade those seeds have grown. Those children are now adults. Their breeding has been blossoming in ways that those watering the seeds could not have imagined- the government has lost control of the hatred.

What we now have is regret and an urgency to do damage control. The situation must be handled before it leads to the frightening scenario of future national violence or the many unthinkable possibilities that anger and hatred result in.

Today when a politician or spokesperson comes in front of the camera saying Islam is about peace; reassuring us there are many good Muslims and we should build them mosques in the name of peace, that too on places like ground zero- these statements will seem absurd in the face of those programmed to hate anything and everything that has to do with Islam.

Subliminal messages have a far more powerful impact that can be quantified and reversed.

Sufism has become an umbrella term for the various methods of preaching and practicing a peaceful Islam. A desperate attempt is being made to use this label to display a positive side of the religion. People are waving the label Sufi like a white flag in a war zone. Continue reading Eliminating Islamophobia →

Online Sufi Text

Islamic Texts, Scholars, Sufism


A second revised edition of a text attributed to Muhammad ibn ‘Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/892) and called Bayan al-Farq bayn al-Sadr wal-Qalb wal-Fu’ad wal-Lubb, edited with a brief introduction by Yousef Meri is now available from the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan (ISBN: 978-9957-8533-5-8). A pdf may be downloaded from the RISSC website by clicking here.

Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion

Anthropology/Sociology, Bible and Holy Land, Islam and Christianity, Islam in America, Islam in Europe, Islam: Introduction, Judaism, Scholars, Sufism


Whatever you think about “religion,” you must admit that “religion” is not something that can be avoided. There are countries where a person has little choice but to accept the dominant religion imposed and there are places where one can shop for religion more easily than clothes. As an anthropologist I accept the fact not only that we have evolved (even if Darwin did not start a religion) and that all members of Homo sapiens that have been encountered and studied have something that deserves to be called “religion,” even if only in the minimalist sense of Victorian Quaker Edward Tylor that religion is at bottom a belief in spirits. There are many religions out there and several important scholarly organizations devoted to the study of religion in one way or another, but add a new one to the mix.

Anthropologist Gabriele Marranci, founder of the journal Contemporary Islam, has formed the Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion (WASR perhaps for those who like acronyms) If you do not have a Facebook account, join the Wiki.

This group is open to scholars studying religion or with an interest in religion and aims to develop a worldwide association accessible to any scholar or student wherever they might live. This is a working group to develop ideas and the structure for this new association, which aims also to remove the gap between scholars working in developing countries and those in the West. This group is open to scholars studying religion or with an interest in religion and aims to develop a worldwide association accessible to any scholar or student wherever they might live. As scholars the goal of the association to study religion in all its forms and not to lobby for any particular religion or even for the absence of religion. This is a working group to develop ideas and the structure for this new association, which aims also to remove the gap between scholars working in developing countries and those in the West.

As Marranci notes, his effort is not to replace organizations like the American Academy of Religion, but to expand the network of scholars who study religion worldwide. With the Internet and Skype, scholars are no longer captive to meeting colleagues at professional meetings, important as these remain. Feel free to join today and tell your friends.

On Facebook; you can request joining (which is free) by clicking here. You can also join via the Wiki.

Tabsir Redux: Ibn Tufayl’s Fable

Books You Should Read, Islam in Europe, Islamic Sciences, Islamic Texts, Literature, Sufism


What would happen to a child growing up on an island outside any human society? In real life such a scenario would be absurd. No child could survive from birth on his or her own, despite exotic accounts of feral human babies being reared by animals. But as a thought experiment, it makes an intriguing story. Such is the philosophical fable spun by the Andalusian Muslim scholar Ibn Tufayl over eight centuries ago. I have just finished teaching this text and the lessons in it are fresh in my mind.

If you have never read this classic fable, it can be found online in the original 1708 translation into English by Simon Ockley. A more recent translation by Lenn Evan Goodman is available from Amazon. The author was a distinguished Muslim intellectual who borrowed from the earlier Greek icons Aristotle and Plato, as well as the commentaries by earlier Muslim philosophers like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and al-Farabi. His fable combines logical arguments, inductive scientific observation and a form of intuition that leads to a union with the One. Continue reading Tabsir Redux: Ibn Tufayl’s Fable →

New Books in Islamic Studies

Books You Should Read, Iraq, Islamic History, Sufism, Teaching Resources


A new website has been launched called New Books in Islamic Studies, hosted by Kristian Petersen of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. The site contains short descriptions of relevant books, the most recent on the site being Laury Silvers, A Soaring Minaret: Abu Bakr al-Wasiti and the Rise of Baghdadi Sufism (SUNY Press, 2010).

Here is the description of Laury’s new book:

A broad portrait of early Islamic mysticism is fairly well-know. However, there are only a few key figures that have been explored in great detail and their activities shape how we understand this early history of Sufism. Laury Silvers, Professor of Religion at the University of Toronto, makes a significant contribution to the early development of Sufism by focusing on an influential but lesser-known figure, Abu Bakr al-Wasiti (d. ca. 320 AH/932 CE), the “soaring minaret.” In her new book, A Soaring Minaret: Abu Bakr al-Wasiti and the Rise of Baghdadi Sufism (SUNY Press, 2010), she situates Wasiti and his contributions within the broader historical developments in the formative period of Sufism. By doing so she deepens our knowledge of the development and spread of Baghdadi Ahl al-Hadith culture East to Khurasan, the consolidation of Baghdadi Sufism and the internalization of Khurasani traditions during the formative period. Continue reading New Books in Islamic Studies →

Rumi over Khamenei

Iran, Poetry, Scholars, Sufism

Iran’s spiritual leader isn’t a hardline Islamist, but a mystic poet

By Melody Moezzi, Christian Science Monitor, May 11, 2011

Iran’s officially recognized “spiritual leader” today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Iranians of all creeds have looked to another spiritual leader: Jalal ad-Din Rumi. While this 13th century Persian Sufi poet is known in much of the West as “Rumi,” he is referred to more affectionately in Iran as “Mowlaana,” or the master.

Among Iranians, he is a spiritual guide and guru whose words hold unmatched moral authority. Over 700 years after his death, it is nearly impossible to spend a day walking around any Iranian city, suburb, or village and not hear his echo. His words live on in everyday parlance: No matter one’s station, religion, or occupation, everyone in Iran knows at least a handful of Rumi’s poems by heart. They are taught in classrooms as an essential part of the basic curriculum, but more than that, they are learned in homes, cafes, bazaars, parks, and houses of worship. No place is beyond this poet’s influence. Continue reading Rumi over Khamenei →

Viewing the Shanamah in Manhattan

Calligraphy, Conferences and Talks, Iran, Languages, Literature, Miniatures, Poetry, Qur'an, Scholars, Sufism


Portrait of the infant Rustam shown to Sam (folio 30b)

On Thursday night I had the privilege of attending a reading of portions of the Shanamah by Iraj Anvar.
The reading was held as part of the superb series called “Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World,” which is a series of readings and events that began in March with a lecture by Bruce Lawrence on the Quran and continues through May 7. This is an extraordinary opportunity to hear and learn more about the variety of poetic production in Islamic cultures worldwide.

While the reading of the Shanamah is over, you can still see the exhibit of the mid 15th century Muhammad Juki’s manuscript of the Shanamah at the Asia Society through May 1.