The Institute for Sufi Studies at Üsküdar University is pleased to invite you to a conversation with Dr. Besnik Sinani on his recently published monograph: "Sufism in Saudi Arabia Since 1979: The Politics of Orthodoxy in Contemporary Islam."
Date: Wednesday, April 29
Time: 19.00 – 20.30
Venue: Fuat Sezgin Conference Hall, Üsküdar University, South Campus
Speaker: Dr. Besnik Sinani (University of Tübingen)
Join us for a conversation with Besnik Sinani on his new monograph:
Sufism in Saudi Arabia Since 1979: The Politics of Orthodoxy in Contemporary Islam
This book offers the first full-length study of Sufism in Saudi Arabia in the modern period. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, interviews with Sufi practitioners, and archival research, the work uncovers a largely unseen dimension of the kingdom’s religious life.
The book traces the persistence of Sufi networks in the Hejaz, explores transnational scholarly connections, and examines the tensions between lived spirituality and state-enforced religious orthodoxy.
Through figures such as Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki and broader intellectual currents, the study reveals a complex religious landscape often obscured in dominant narratives. It also offers a timely analysis of the transformations unfolding in Saudi Arabia under the rule of Muhammad b. Salman.
Besnik Sinani is an AIWG Research Fellow at the Center for Islamic Theology, Tübingen University in Germany.
Dr. Besnik Sinani
Dr. Besnik Sinani is an AIWG Research Fellow at the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He received his doctoral degree in History and Islamic Studies from Freie Universität Berlin and holds an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University. He has taught at Freie Universität Berlin, and has served as a research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin and the American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan. His doctoral dissertation was awarded the 2021 Dissertation Award by the German Congress of Middle Eastern Studies, reflecting the scholarly recognition of his work on Islamic intellectual history. Dr. Sinani’s research focuses on Islamic thought, Sufism, prophecy, and the intersections of tradition and reform in contemporary Muslim contexts. Dr. Sinani is likewise the Director of the Konak Institute in Albania, currently working towards establishing the first Museum of Islamic Art in Albania.