Ibn 'Arabi Society

Ibn 'Arabi's erotic love poetry emerges from within the Arabic lyrical tradition. The named beloved in the poems is Nizam, a girl from Isfahan, who has been called Ibn 'Arabi's Beatrice. Michael Sells, who writes about and translates Ibn 'Arabi's love poetry, will discuss how the Nizam poems intimate a cultural romance between the Arabic and Persian literary, mystical and cultural worlds in the Middle Ages.

Fatemeh Keshavarz, an Iranian academic, writer and literary figure, is professor of Persian Language and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Her publications include Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran and Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetics of Sacred Making in Twentieth Century Iran, and Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Her interview in 2007 on American Public Radio, Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi, won the Peabody Award.

Mahmud Erol Kilic, PhD, a graduate of the University of Istanbul, did postgraduate studies and taught at the Department of Islamic Philosophy at Marmara University where he published his MA thesis, Hermes and Hermetic Sciences According to Muslim Thinkers and completed his PhD thesis, Ibn 'Arabi's Ontology (2010). Professor Kilic has contributed many articles to journals and encyclopedias and attended many international conferences on Sufism and inter-religious dialogues. His recent book, Sufi and Poetry: Poetics of Ottoman Sufi Poetry, was chosen as the book of the year by the Association of Turkish Writers. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society in Oxford.

Fatemeh Keshavarz, an Iranian academic, writer and literary figure, is professor of Persian Language and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Her publications include Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran and Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetics of Sacred Making in Twentieth Century Iran, and Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Her interview in 2007 on American Public Radio, Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi, won the Peabody Award.

Ahmed Eissawi, a noted, widely published Sufi poet and former Arabic language instructor at Ain Shams University in Cairo, is: on the faculty of the Foreign Languages Program at the U.N. (since 1991); an adjunct instructor in the Foreign Languages and Translation Department at NYU; founder and director of the Arabic Language Institute in NY; and a major figure in Arab-American culture and print and televised media. Aaron Cass is an actor, musician, composer and co-founder of the Vastearth Orchestra with whom he has produced two albums of classical Middle Eastern poetry set to music, "Green Bird" and "A Garden Amidst the Flames." The music composed is based on and inspired by the readings from Ibn 'Arabi. The group performs nationally in the UK.

James W. Morris, PhD, Professor at Boston College and former Chair of Islamic Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter has also taught Islamic and comparative religious studies at many universities, including Princeton, Oberlin, and the Sorbonne. His many books include: Knowing the Spirit ; The Reflective Heart: Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn 'Arabi's 'Meccan Illuminations'; Orientations: Islamic Thought in a World Civilisation ; and Ibn 'Arabi: The Meccan Revelations.

In 2009, The Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society and the New York Open Center began the first of a series of conferences together on the great mystic Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi. We now present the second conference in this series, this one focusing on the relationship of Ibn 'Arabi's teachings to those of Jalaluddin Rumi, the other giant of Sufi mysticism. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) and Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) are unquestionably the two great pillars of Islamic mysticism. They appeared in the same century, one from the Muslim West, the other from the East, bringing a glorious new vision of human potential and realization that has been a source of inspiration ever since. Their words continue to touch us directly, inviting us to explore the heart as the place of wisdom and love. This first conference dedicated to both these spiritual masters will be a unique opportunity to explore and discuss their teachings with leading scholars in the field. There will be lectures and workshops as well as traditional and original musical/artistic performances.

In 2009, The Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society and the New York Open Center began the first of a series of conferences together on the great mystic Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi. We now present the second conference in this series, this one focusing on the relationship of Ibn 'Arabi's teachings to those of Jalaluddin Rumi, the other giant of Sufi mysticism. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) and Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) are unquestionably the two great pillars of Islamic mysticism. They appeared in the same century, one from the Muslim West, the other from the East, bringing a glorious new vision of human potential and realization that has been a source of inspiration ever since. Their words continue to touch us directly, inviting us to explore the heart as the place of wisdom and love. This first conference dedicated to both these spiritual masters will be a unique opportunity to explore and discuss their teachings with leading scholars in the field. There will be lectures and workshops as well as traditional and original musical/artistic performances.

In 2009, The Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society and the New York Open Center began the first of a series of conferences together on the great mystic Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi. We now present the second conference in this series, this one focusing on the relationship of Ibn 'Arabi's teachings to those of Jalaluddin Rumi, the other giant of Sufi mysticism. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) and Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) are unquestionably the two great pillars of Islamic mysticism. They appeared in the same century, one from the Muslim West, the other from the East, bringing a glorious new vision of human potential and realization that has been a source of inspiration ever since. Their words continue to touch us directly, inviting us to explore the heart as the place of wisdom and love. This first conference dedicated to both these spiritual masters will be a unique opportunity to explore and discuss their teachings with leading scholars in the field. There will be lectures and workshops as well as traditional and original musical/artistic performances.

Todd Lawson, PhD, teaches Islamic Thought at the University of Toronto. His interests include the Qur'an and its interpretation over time, Islamic Gnosis, Shi'ism and its later developments such as the Babi and Bahai religions. He has published numerous articles on these and other topics as well as two books, Reason and Inspiration in Islam (London 2005) and The Crucifixion and the Qur'an (Oxford 2009). His book Gnostic Apocalypse in Islam is scheduled to appear later this year.