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Seminal Sufism in Motion: The Oldest Extant Arabic Encyclopedia of Islamic Mysticism and its Dissemination

Project description

Shedding light on Islamic mysticism

In a Europe grappling with multicultural and multifaith dynamics, understanding the nuances of Islamic mysticism is important. Yet, accessing ancient texts that delve into these depths poses a challenge. The richness of early Sufi sources remains obscured by linguistic barriers, historical distance, and cultural divides. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the SEMENSUF project explores the intersection of philology, intellectual history, and digital humanities. It is dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the oldest extant encyclopaedia of Islamic Mysticism: the Book of Flashes by Abū Nasr al-Sarrāj. Beyond academia, SEMENSUF envisions a broader impact on European societies, fostering inclusivity and dialogue through the shared spirituality of mysticism.

Objective

SEMENSUF is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project at the crossroads of philology, intellectual history, and material culture that adopts basic tools of digital humanities for Arabic literary and religious studies. It aims at providing an open-access scholarly edition and lucid, knowledge-sharing English annotated translation of the oldest extant encyclopaedia of Islamic Mysticism, the Book of Flashes in Sufism by Abū Nasr al-Sarrāj (d. 988). Through its innovative method, SEMENSUF aims at laying the foundations for a new historical and textual approach to the editing of early Sufi sources: the philological atomization of the work in textual units, the study of the manuscript transmission and material culture, and the digitization of later related sources are critical for shedding light on channels of knowledge transmission, centers of learning, and scholarly networks in early Sufism and more broadly in Islamic culture.
SEMENSUF strongly believes that editing and translating a 1000-year-old work of mysticism can have a major impact on European multicultural and multifaith societies. In fact, the Book of Flashes tackles several intra- and extra Islamic issues that are still very much relevant to today’s Europe: it highlights how mysticism is and should be considered a genuinely component of Islam, invalidating most contemporary Neo-Salafi claims to the contrary; more importantly, the Book of Flashes reflects a strong concern for and appraisal of heterogeneity and pluralism within Islam. It is a hymn to diversity and to coexistence of different practices and sensibilities which collaborate rather than compete, resulting in a shared spirituality. SEMENSUF thus aims at having an impact on European pluralistic society by making available, to a wide audience, a universal text which will stimulate a reflection on mysticism as a safe space for intercultural and interfaith pluralism, dialogue, and inclusivity.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 254 979,84
Address
LARGO GEMELLI 1
20123 MILANO
Italy

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Region
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Partners (2)

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