Prof. Omid Safi will be at Üsküdar University
Duke University Islamic Research Center Director and winner of the “DOST Service to Islam Award,” Prof. Omid Safi will give a conference at Üsküdar University on “Radical Love: Mazhab-e Aşk". The conference, on Thursday, October 11, will be open to the public.
Duke University Islamic Research Center Director Prof. Omid Safi will be at Üsküdar University as a guest of the Institute for Sufi Studies, with the contribution of Kerim Foundation.
Prof. Safi will meet with the students of the Institute for Sufi Studies
Prof. Safi will conduct official meetings that will evaluate possible academic cooperation between the Duke University Islamic Research Center and Üsküdar University Institute for Sufi Studies. Prof. Safi will give a conference in Üsküdar University on Thursday, October 11, 2018, at 14.00 about “Radical Love: Mazhab-e Aşk”.
Prof. Safi, winner of “DOST Service to Islam Award”
Of Iranian heritage, Prof. Omid Safi was born in Florida and received his doctorate degree from the field of Sociology of Religion and Anthropology at Duke University. Prof. Safi’s research deals with Persian mystical literature in the classical (1000-1400) period. His interest in the interaction and negotiation of religion and politics led to his book Politics of Knowledge in Pre-modern Islam. His trace of the mystical commemoration and contestation of the Prophet Muhammad was covered in his Memories of Muhammad volume; the Turkish translation of this work has been published by Nefes Publication. His work focused on the contemporary issues of Islamic reform and progressive interpretations of Islam are covered in publications such as Progressive Muslims, Voices of Islam: Voices of Change, and Cambridge Companion to American Islam (co-written with Juliane Hammer).
Prof. Safi, the winner of the “DOST Service to Islam Award”, is interested in all areas where Persian has been a major presence in high-culture, meaning a geography extending from the Iranian plateau to Central Asia, North India, and Turkey. The more contemporary aspects of his work are global in nature and emphasize the United States and Iran, among other sites.
“One of the most exciting developments in the Sufi tradition was the development of a distinct path called the Mazhab-e Aşk.”
Prof. Safi’s the latest work is Radical Love: Mazhab-e Aşk. Prof. Safi evaluates this subject as follows: “One of the most exciting developments in the Sufi tradition was the development of a distinct path called the Mazhab-e Aşk. Prior to this development, Sufis conceived of love as being divided into human and Divine love. With this path, however, there was a new realization that goes back to Ahmad Ghazali and reaches a zenith in other Sufis like Abu Sa’id Abi ‘-Khayr, Kharaqani, ‘Attar, and Hazrat-e Mevlana Rumi. Here the notion was that there is One Love, an outpouring of the Divine onto this realm that brings the world into creation, sustains us here, and will lead us back to the Divine.”
The conference will be open to the public.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)