Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PIETY (Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam)
Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2026-02-28
Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project
• What is the problem/issue being addressed?
Beyond Sharia seeks to explain the emergence, flourishing and lasting appeal of non-conformist movements in Islamic intellectual history, in a vast region from the Indian subcontinent to the Balkans. Public debate today focuses on Salafism and orthodoxy, largely ignoring the complexity and pluriformity of intellectual debate within Islam. This complexity is the focus of Beyond Sharia. What is the meaning of “Islamic,” when important medieval Muslim intellectuals criticized the notion of the Hereafter, and denied the existence of Hell and Paradise. Why did they use transgressive motifs, metaphors and stories? Why have transgressive motifs been preserved and popularised?
The project examines, for instance, how mystics, such as the wandering Islamic dervishes (qalandars) became a central motif in the Islamic literatures produced in this vast area. This motif is used by authors such as Rumi, Sanai and Hafez who are popular even today. The project investigates how extreme mystical movements became a foundation for political power, and how mysticism of this type became an indispensable part the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) in India. Beyond Sharia also investigates how non-conformist mystics inspired other movements that seek to revitalize Islam in modern times, in Türkiye, Iran, Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent. The synergy between the projects is the phenomenon of non-conformist Islamic mystics transgressing Islamic laws and questioning the piety of the clerics, and how these non-conformist movements inspired groups to discuss atheism, agnosticism and materialism as belief systems.
• Why is it important for society?
Each study in this project contributes to our understanding of religion, especially the notions of belief versus unbelief, atheism versus faith, orthodoxy versus heterodoxy, doubt versus certainty, etc. The current public debate on Islam in Europe is dominated by orthodoxy. Muslims and non-Muslims alike appear to have little knowledge of the pluriformity in Islam. While we know that there are numerous paths of Christian religiosity, many suppose that for Islam there is one ‘correct’ path to be pious, and that the Sharia is central to that. It is even proposed that Islam needs an ‘Age of Enlightenment’, or a Lutheran revolution, with the implicit assumption that to question orthodoxy and the centrality of the Sharia would be new in Islam, and would have to be based on European examples. Beyond Sharia informs readers in many ways that the first assumption is untrue, while the second sparks little enthusiasm among Muslims and non-Muslims, since its Eurocentricism is dated.
Falling between two cultures, young Muslim men and women in Europe look for models of pious life, and often find only orthodoxy or the dogmatic extremists. Neither allow for diverse ways of experiencing religiosity. One way to address fundamentalism, especially among young Muslims in the West, is to show them that, according to Islamic discourse, there are many ways to be a good Muslim. Beyond Sharia contributes to this.
Beyond Sharia is furthermore important for society as it inspires scholars in the broader areas of the Middle East to investigate similar phenomena in their own cultures, creating more understanding of a topic that is at once central, controversial and understudied. Clearly, the general subject of Beyond Sharia, deviant movements in Islam and Islamic spirituality, is controversial in many Muslim countries. In many places, Sufis are persecuted or oppressed, and academics may refrain from studying aspects of mysticism for fear of being associated with these movements themselves. Beyond Sharia shows how such topics can be studied scientifically.
Each of the projects carries its own societal impact. For instance, the project focusing on the Persian mystic poet Rumi sheds light on contemporary forms of spirituality in the West, examining how certain sages from the Islamic tradition are depicted as humanist religious leaders while others are portrayed as fanatics. Similarly the syncretic religion that the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1542-1605) established during his reign in India shows the impact of non-conformist ideas in politics. This religion blended elements of Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity to create religious harmony, tolerance, and peace. Our modern society can learn from this hybrid new religion how it is possible to create a peaceful society based on respect.
Beyond Sharia also has significant societal impact in the contexts of sexuality and gender. While numerous studies have explored these topics, to my knowledge, none have examined the relationship between antinomian mysticism and femininity. One study focuses on a single woman poet, Jahan Malek Khatun, analyzing her philosophy, her interactions with male contemporaries, the challenges she faced in a patriarchal society, and the aesthetic qualities of her writings. This illuminates how Islamic women intellectuals engaged with antinomian subjects, showcasing their valor in transgressing traditional and religious norms and values.
In sum, Beyond Sharia offers different windows to see a different sort of Islam, inviting Muslims and non-Muslims to look at concepts such as religion, faith, piety, secularism, atheism, etc. from different perspectives.
• What are the overall objectives?
Beyond Sharia examines how non-conformists became central in the conceptualization of modes of piety in the intellectual history of Islam. What is the appeal of these dervishes, living one thousand years ago, such that they are still cited to express what true piety entails? The overall objective is to understand the origin of the deviant movements, the transfer of their behaviour into poetic motifs, metaphors and stories, and the ways in which intellectual and political influencers employed these literary figures to voice their own convictions and behaviour. We must understand how the transgression of Sharia became symbolically central, while remaining highly controversial. We must also examine the breadth and depth of these movements, examining diverse periods and geographical areas from the Balkans to the Indian subcontinent, and from the 9th century to the present. Each study in the project Beyond Sharia reinforces the others by examining another aspect of the transgression of Sharia in order to gain insight into the way non-conformist ideas have paradoxically taken a central place in Islamic intellectual life.
Beyond Sharia seeks to explain the emergence, flourishing and lasting appeal of non-conformist movements in Islamic intellectual history, in a vast region from the Indian subcontinent to the Balkans. Public debate today focuses on Salafism and orthodoxy, largely ignoring the complexity and pluriformity of intellectual debate within Islam. This complexity is the focus of Beyond Sharia. What is the meaning of “Islamic,” when important medieval Muslim intellectuals criticized the notion of the Hereafter, and denied the existence of Hell and Paradise. Why did they use transgressive motifs, metaphors and stories? Why have transgressive motifs been preserved and popularised?
The project examines, for instance, how mystics, such as the wandering Islamic dervishes (qalandars) became a central motif in the Islamic literatures produced in this vast area. This motif is used by authors such as Rumi, Sanai and Hafez who are popular even today. The project investigates how extreme mystical movements became a foundation for political power, and how mysticism of this type became an indispensable part the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) in India. Beyond Sharia also investigates how non-conformist mystics inspired other movements that seek to revitalize Islam in modern times, in Türkiye, Iran, Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent. The synergy between the projects is the phenomenon of non-conformist Islamic mystics transgressing Islamic laws and questioning the piety of the clerics, and how these non-conformist movements inspired groups to discuss atheism, agnosticism and materialism as belief systems.
• Why is it important for society?
Each study in this project contributes to our understanding of religion, especially the notions of belief versus unbelief, atheism versus faith, orthodoxy versus heterodoxy, doubt versus certainty, etc. The current public debate on Islam in Europe is dominated by orthodoxy. Muslims and non-Muslims alike appear to have little knowledge of the pluriformity in Islam. While we know that there are numerous paths of Christian religiosity, many suppose that for Islam there is one ‘correct’ path to be pious, and that the Sharia is central to that. It is even proposed that Islam needs an ‘Age of Enlightenment’, or a Lutheran revolution, with the implicit assumption that to question orthodoxy and the centrality of the Sharia would be new in Islam, and would have to be based on European examples. Beyond Sharia informs readers in many ways that the first assumption is untrue, while the second sparks little enthusiasm among Muslims and non-Muslims, since its Eurocentricism is dated.
Falling between two cultures, young Muslim men and women in Europe look for models of pious life, and often find only orthodoxy or the dogmatic extremists. Neither allow for diverse ways of experiencing religiosity. One way to address fundamentalism, especially among young Muslims in the West, is to show them that, according to Islamic discourse, there are many ways to be a good Muslim. Beyond Sharia contributes to this.
Beyond Sharia is furthermore important for society as it inspires scholars in the broader areas of the Middle East to investigate similar phenomena in their own cultures, creating more understanding of a topic that is at once central, controversial and understudied. Clearly, the general subject of Beyond Sharia, deviant movements in Islam and Islamic spirituality, is controversial in many Muslim countries. In many places, Sufis are persecuted or oppressed, and academics may refrain from studying aspects of mysticism for fear of being associated with these movements themselves. Beyond Sharia shows how such topics can be studied scientifically.
Each of the projects carries its own societal impact. For instance, the project focusing on the Persian mystic poet Rumi sheds light on contemporary forms of spirituality in the West, examining how certain sages from the Islamic tradition are depicted as humanist religious leaders while others are portrayed as fanatics. Similarly the syncretic religion that the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1542-1605) established during his reign in India shows the impact of non-conformist ideas in politics. This religion blended elements of Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity to create religious harmony, tolerance, and peace. Our modern society can learn from this hybrid new religion how it is possible to create a peaceful society based on respect.
Beyond Sharia also has significant societal impact in the contexts of sexuality and gender. While numerous studies have explored these topics, to my knowledge, none have examined the relationship between antinomian mysticism and femininity. One study focuses on a single woman poet, Jahan Malek Khatun, analyzing her philosophy, her interactions with male contemporaries, the challenges she faced in a patriarchal society, and the aesthetic qualities of her writings. This illuminates how Islamic women intellectuals engaged with antinomian subjects, showcasing their valor in transgressing traditional and religious norms and values.
In sum, Beyond Sharia offers different windows to see a different sort of Islam, inviting Muslims and non-Muslims to look at concepts such as religion, faith, piety, secularism, atheism, etc. from different perspectives.
• What are the overall objectives?
Beyond Sharia examines how non-conformists became central in the conceptualization of modes of piety in the intellectual history of Islam. What is the appeal of these dervishes, living one thousand years ago, such that they are still cited to express what true piety entails? The overall objective is to understand the origin of the deviant movements, the transfer of their behaviour into poetic motifs, metaphors and stories, and the ways in which intellectual and political influencers employed these literary figures to voice their own convictions and behaviour. We must understand how the transgression of Sharia became symbolically central, while remaining highly controversial. We must also examine the breadth and depth of these movements, examining diverse periods and geographical areas from the Balkans to the Indian subcontinent, and from the 9th century to the present. Each study in the project Beyond Sharia reinforces the others by examining another aspect of the transgression of Sharia in order to gain insight into the way non-conformist ideas have paradoxically taken a central place in Islamic intellectual life.
Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far
We have been very active in preparing our individual research. Next to reading, collating primary and secondary materials, and writing drafts of several chapters of individual books, we have also organised conferences and workshops which have resulted into publications, either in a popular scientific journal for a broad public
We have been highly engaged in preparing our individual research projects. In addition to reading, colleting primary and secondary materials, and drafting several chapters of our respective books, we have also organized international conferences and workshops. The results of such efforts have led to publications, appearing either in popular scientific journals or in journals intended for a broader audience such as ZemZem: Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en Islam. Other volumes for specialised audience are the forthcoming volume of essays Nonconformists’ Dimensions of Sufism and Other Antinomian Movements in the Iranian Cultural Tradition (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2024) which is a selection of papers presented at the international conference Faces of Islam (October 13-14, 2022) or a selection of essays on Jalal al-Din Rumi, based on the conferences we organised on Rumi. We are planning to publish this particular volume at De Gruyter in Berlin.
The Beyond Sharia team has been active in organising scholarly workshops and (international) conferences from the outset. Our activities are open for students and general public. Up to now we have organized the a number of events, hosting several international scholars from within and outside our field.
Another domain of our activity concerns publication of blogs to reach a broad audience. Beyond Sharia team has published a large number of blogs, reaching several thousands of audience. Some of these blogs have also been translated into Persian to reach Persian speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Tadzhikistan. Several of Professor Seyed-Gohrab’s blogs have been translated into Arabic to reach the Arab world. Also we have reached a relatively large number of general interested audiences around the world, 40 k. Facebook when we organised a workshop on the Persian mystic poet Rumi.
Reflecting on the period during which we have been engaged in the Beyond Sharia project, I am pleased to report that we have achieved part of our goals both in terms of analysing unexplored original Persian texts, and publishing our results in academic publications, as evidenced by the activities of the individual team members. The Principal Investigator (PI) has completed a monograph on one of the key Islamic figures, Muhammad Ghazzali (1058-1111), investigating how Ghazzali wanted to eradicate antinomian groups by issuing religious decrees (fatwas) for political rulers and writing treatises condemning nonconformist groups. Ghazzali's goal was to establish an Islam solely based on the Sharia laws. Two postdocs have written chapters on their individual projects. The third postdoc, who was appointed much later (July 2023) is writing an introductory chapter. Most of the PhDs are on schedule and hope to finish their first draft at the beginning of the fourth years so that they have a few months to edit and improve their dissertations.
We have been highly engaged in preparing our individual research projects. In addition to reading, colleting primary and secondary materials, and drafting several chapters of our respective books, we have also organized international conferences and workshops. The results of such efforts have led to publications, appearing either in popular scientific journals or in journals intended for a broader audience such as ZemZem: Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en Islam. Other volumes for specialised audience are the forthcoming volume of essays Nonconformists’ Dimensions of Sufism and Other Antinomian Movements in the Iranian Cultural Tradition (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2024) which is a selection of papers presented at the international conference Faces of Islam (October 13-14, 2022) or a selection of essays on Jalal al-Din Rumi, based on the conferences we organised on Rumi. We are planning to publish this particular volume at De Gruyter in Berlin.
The Beyond Sharia team has been active in organising scholarly workshops and (international) conferences from the outset. Our activities are open for students and general public. Up to now we have organized the a number of events, hosting several international scholars from within and outside our field.
Another domain of our activity concerns publication of blogs to reach a broad audience. Beyond Sharia team has published a large number of blogs, reaching several thousands of audience. Some of these blogs have also been translated into Persian to reach Persian speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Tadzhikistan. Several of Professor Seyed-Gohrab’s blogs have been translated into Arabic to reach the Arab world. Also we have reached a relatively large number of general interested audiences around the world, 40 k. Facebook when we organised a workshop on the Persian mystic poet Rumi.
Reflecting on the period during which we have been engaged in the Beyond Sharia project, I am pleased to report that we have achieved part of our goals both in terms of analysing unexplored original Persian texts, and publishing our results in academic publications, as evidenced by the activities of the individual team members. The Principal Investigator (PI) has completed a monograph on one of the key Islamic figures, Muhammad Ghazzali (1058-1111), investigating how Ghazzali wanted to eradicate antinomian groups by issuing religious decrees (fatwas) for political rulers and writing treatises condemning nonconformist groups. Ghazzali's goal was to establish an Islam solely based on the Sharia laws. Two postdocs have written chapters on their individual projects. The third postdoc, who was appointed much later (July 2023) is writing an introductory chapter. Most of the PhDs are on schedule and hope to finish their first draft at the beginning of the fourth years so that they have a few months to edit and improve their dissertations.
Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)
The Beyond Sharia project represents a groundbreaking endeavour that has challenged established paradigms in Persian and Iranian Studies, Islamic Studies, and Literary Studies, to name only the most related fields. This research progresses beyond the state of the art as it investigates concepts such as secularism and atheism during medieval as well as modern times. Such concepts are usually associated with European intellectual tradition and when applied to the Islamic world, the researchers tend to solely focus on modern sources. Beyond Sharia demonstrates that freethinkers throughout medieval times engaged with such concepts, inspiring contemporary Islamic intellectuals to contemplate fundamental notions like belief and unbelief, piety and impiety. Additionally, the project is linked to everyday life topics such as the consumption of wine, homoeroticism, homosexuality, gender equality, and sexuality. By employing a novel methodology that integrates close reading, Reception Theories, Transgression, and Memory Studies, Beyond Sharia stands at the forefront of various academic fields such as Islamic Studies, Literary Studies and Iranian Studies. We are confident that this project will set a precedent for future researchers and serve as a model for generations to come.