left to right: Michael Sells, John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago; Taoufiq Ben Amor,a Tunisian vocalist, percussionist, oud player and Professor of Arabic at Columbia University; William C. Chittick, Professor of Religious Studies in the Asian and Asian American Studies Dept. at Stony Brook

Islam, Sufism and the Heart of Compassion: Living the Teachings of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi

The New York Open Center and the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society will co-present a conference titled “Islam, Sufism and the Heart of Compassion: Living the Teachings of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi” on November 6,7, 2009

This conference will examine the heart of Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings and in the process seek to deepen understanding of Islam here in the West in the light of one of its most profound, original and universally relevant thinkers.The conference will open with a series of talks on Friday evening and Saturday morning and will be followed by afternoon workshops, ending with a concluding presentation including a music ensemble. The presentations will cover such themes as: Ibn ’Arabi and the Quest for Human Perfection; Suffering and Spiritual Growth in Ibn ‘Arabi’s Futuhat; The Wisdom of the Heart; Ibn ‘Arabi in Dialogue with the Confucian Tradition; and more. The presenters include some of the leading Ibn ‘Arabi scholars in the world from the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Confirmed speakers include:

• Salman Bashier
• William Chittick
• Sashiko Murata
• Mohamed Haj Yousef
• Stephen Hirtenstein

You can download the symposium brochure here. (This is an Acrobat pdf file, 3.5mb.)

SPECIAL GUEST: Michael Sells, PhD, will give a short reading of his translation of the Tarjuman on Friday evening.

This groundbreaking event, at the beautiful Gothic cathedral of the historic interdenominational Riverside Church of New York, will explore the wisdom and contemporary relevance of the 13th century mystic and teacher Ibn ‘Arabi, who is considered the greatest master of gnostic and philosophical Sufism.

The conference brings together some of the world’s leading Ibn ’Arabi scholars and will include talks, workshops, musical performances, poetry readings in Arabic and English, and films presented the award-winning director Nacer Khemir. The conference will include presentations such as: Ibn ’Arabi and the Quest for Human Perfection; How Ibn al-Arabi’s Mystical Love Can Overcome Fundamentalism; Ibn ’Arabi in Dialogue with the Confucian Tradition, and much more.

As was evident in the global response to our presidential election, people of good will everywhere are in search of new perspectives and of voices that can transcend narrow interpretations of religion and politics and bring us universal truths and common ground. Ibn ’Arabi was born in Medieval Spain, then home to an extraordinarily enlightened culture of religious tolerance among Muslims, Jews and Christians, a period that can serve us today as an inspiring example of the possiblitiy of fruitful co-existence and cooperation among different cultures — a lesson we desperately need to heed in this period of intense polarization and constant war.

Ibn ’Arabi was one of history’s greatest universal mystics and interpreters of the human condition, and his teachings offer us a window into a form of Islam that we in the West are rarely exposed to. Discovering this profound thinker can help us arrive at a much more well rounded and sophisticated understanding of the more exalted aspects of the Islamic cultural heritage.

Please join us for this exceptional presentation of cross cultural dialogue and come deepen your awareness of the very important part of the Islamic tradition that is one of humanity’s richest veins of mystical spirit and ecstatic beauty.

Post-conference Events
Tunisian filmmaker Nacer Khemir will be presenting his highly acclaimed series of films, the Desert Trilogy, of which the most well-known is “Bab’Aziz.” The films are filled with exquisite scenery and elements of a mystical fairy tale, showing us a more open, tolerant and friendly view of Islamic culture, full of love and wisdom.