The Symposium
Each year the Society organizes Symposia in the UK and the USA on an aspect of Ibn 'Arabi's work.
These international gatherings bring together people from many different fields and traditions, and include scholars, students, and anyone interested in what Ibn 'Arabi has to say. These events provide a unique opportunity for both speakers and delegates, specialists and non-specialists, to enrich their understanding of the Shaykh's teachings and their relevance today. The Society also encourages public seminars and lectures and can provide speakers on request.
'Spiritual Realisation – Knowledge and Practice'
5th and 6th May 2012, Worcester College, Oxford.
The 29th annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society in the UK.
The speakers are Eric Geoffroy, James Morris, Mohammed Rustom, Cemal Nur Sargut and Alison Yiangou. There will also be presentations by three post-graduate scholars (Wahid Amin, Dot Clark and Samir Mahmoud), who will relate their work to the main theme.
- Speakers
- Programme
- Registration, accommodation and meals
- Venue
- How to get there
Speakers and provisional titles of papers
- Eric Geoffroy, Spiritual Realization (al-tahqîq) through Daily Awakening
- James Morris, "As for your Lord's blessings, recount them!": Ibn 'Arabi's Storytelling and Spiritual Communication
- Mohammed Rustom, On Aspiration and Poverty
- Cemal Nur Sargut, Living through the Spectacles of Tasavvuf
- Alison Yiangou, To be announced
Presentations
- Wahid Amin, Philosophers and mystics on the semantics of Being: Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi’s correspondence with Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
- Dot Clark, Self Knowledge in the Practice of the Person-Centred Approach
- Samir Mahmoud, Poesis and Prayer in Ibn 'Arabi
Programme
As well as papers, the symposium programme will include seminars led by the speakers, with time for participation by those attending, and presentations by post-graduate scholars. More details will be posted on the website and a full programme will be sent to participants nearer the time.
About the speakers
 |
Eric Geoffroy Spiritual Realization (al-tahqîq) through Daily Awakening Eric Geoffroy is Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Strasbourg. He also teaches at the Open University of Catalonia and at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). He is a specialist in the study of Sufism and sanctity in Islam. www.eric-geoffroy.net |
 |
James Morris "As for your Lord's blessings, recount them!": Ibn 'Arabi's Storytelling and Spiritual Communication James Morris is Professor of Islamic Studies at Boston College, and has previously taught Islamic and religious studies at Exeter, Princeton, Oberlin, the Sorbonne, and the IIS in Paris and London. He lectures on many areas of religious thought and practice, including the Islamic humanities and poetry, Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and the Qur'an. His most recent books include The Reflective Heart: Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn 'Arabī's "Meccan Illuminations" (2005); Ostad Elahi's Knowing the Spirit (2007); and Openings: From the Qur'an to the Islamic Humanities (forthcoming). |
 |
Mohammed Rustom On Aspiration and Poverty Mohammed Rustom is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa. He is the author of The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra, and the main editor of an anthology of William Chittick´s writings entitled, In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought. |
 |
Cemal Nur Sargut Living through the Spectacles of Tasavvuf Cemalnur Sargut received her BSc in Chemistry Engineering from the State Academy of Architecture and Engineering in 1974 and taught Chemistry to high school students in Istanbul for 20 years. For the last 25 years, she has been carrying out her research and studies on primarily Ahmad al-Rifai, Kenan Rifai and Rumi as well as Ibn Arabi, Niyazi Misri, Shibli, Qunawi and Jilli. Cemalnur Sargut is currently the President of Turkish Women's Cultural Association (TURKKAD), Istanbul. In 2009 she initiated a Kenan Rifai Distinguished Professorship on Islamic Sufism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has been invited to give lectures once a year since 2001. She has also initiated a chair at the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Peking University, China. www.cemalnur.org |
 |
Alison Yiangou Alison Yiangou: Alison read physics and psychology at Bristol and Oxford and then trained in business management and human relations before joining her husband to found Yiangou Architects in 1981. A long-time student of the Beshara School and member of the Ibn 'Arabi Society, she has lectured internationally and has been published in the Journal of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society. She recently helped to establish the 'Self Knowledge and Global Responsibility' journal. |
Presentations
|
Wahid Amin Philosophers and mystics on the semantics of Being: Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi's correspondence with Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Wahid is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford. His research focusses on the development of post-Avicennan philosophy in the 13th century with a special focus on Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and the School of Maragha philosophers. He holds a BSc in Physics from Imperial College, a BA in Theology and Islamic Studies from the University of Birmingham, and an M.St in Study of Religions from Oxford University. His paper examines how the notion of being was of central importance to both the Akbarian and Avicennan traditions. |
|
 |
Dot Clark Self Knowledge in the Practice of the Person-Centred Approach Dot Clark is an experienced Person-Centred psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer who ceased practising in 2007 knowing that space was needed for change. She found herself living and studying at the Beshara School in the Scottish Borders for almost a year from 2008 to 2009. Currently she is a PhD candidate in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Edinburgh exploring the resonance between the experience of living under the order of the Metaphysics of Unity of Ibn 'Arabi and living as a practitioner of the Person-Centred Approach. |
 |
Samir Mahmoud Poesis and Prayer in Ibn 'Arabi Samir is currently the Agha Khan Post-Doctoral Visiting Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He recently submitted his doctoral dissertation on Ibn ' Arabi at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. With a Bachelor degree in Anthropology (UNSW, Australia), a Masters in the History of Architecture & Urban Design (UNSW, Australia), and a Master of Philosophy (Cambridge), Samir's interests vary widely. He is the recipient of several awards including the Zappia and Sol Encel Awards for best honours thesis and performance, the Commissioner Hoffman and International Scholarship awards for masters of urban design and history of architecture, and the Commonwealth Scholarship for masters in philosophy at Cambridge. He held the Commonwealth PhD bursary scholarship and the Golden Web Foundation PhD scholarship. He is the author of several publications including 'Colour and the Mystic Quest' in And Diverse are Their Hues: Colour In Islamic Art and Culture, edited by Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom, Yale University Press, 2011. |
Registration
| Registration fees | Saturday | Sunday | Both |
| Non-member | £35 | £35 | £60 |
| Member | £30 | £30 | £50 |
| Concessions/OAP | £30 | £30 | £50 |
| Full-time student with ID | £15 | £15 | £25 |
The registration fee includes refreshments but no meals.
To register online, use the on-line registration form.
To register by post: use the printable Registration form.
Accommodation and meals
Since the symposium falls during term-time, accommodation in College is not available. There are many places to stay in Oxford within different price bands, including a good Youth Hostel within walking distance of the College. The Oxford Information Centre is a good source of information about hotels and B&Bs: www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com. Tel: 01865 252200
Some delegates will be staying at Rewley House in Wellington Square, a short distance from Worcester College. For information and booking see www.conted.ox.ac.uk or email: resctr@conted.ox.ac.uk .
Early booking for accommodation in Oxford is essential.
Worcester College is within five minutes walk of a variety of places to eat.
Saturday evening: There will be a meal at Pierre Victoire, a nearby restaurant, after the day's programme. Everybody is welcome, but as places are limited please book with us by Friday April 20th at the latest. The cost will be £25 (excluding drinks and tea/coffee).
About the venue – Worcester College
Worcester College is close to the centre of Oxford, within easy reach of coaches, trains, and many places to eat. If you knew Oxford, but had never been into the college, you would be amazed at the extent of its gardens, which provide a beautiful setting for the Linbury Building, a purpose built conference room where the symposium is held.
Worcester is one of 38 independent, self-governing colleges at Oxford University. Worcester College, in its current form, was founded in 1714, but there has been a place of learning on the property since Gloucester College was founded for the Benedictine order in 1283. Cottages dating back to the 15th century are still in use.
Other events
University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education:
Wednesday 11 January to Wednesday 8 February 2012
Islamic Mystical Poetry
This course, which is intended to be the first in a series, will look at the early period (8th-12th centuries), and especially the work of five important Sufi poets: Rabi'a (d .801) and Hallaj (d. 922) writing in Arabic, and Abu Sa'id b. Abi al-Khayr (967-1049) Sana'i (d.1131) and 'Attar (1145-1221) writing in Persian. All poems will be studied in English translation and the focus will be upon drawing out their meaning and universal relevance to the human condition. No previous knowledge is required. www.conted.ox.ac.uk
The Temenos Academy, London:
21 February - 20 March, 2012
The Ringstones of Wisdom (Fusus al-hikam) – The Divine Wisdom in the Word of Adam
Leaders Jane Clark and Cecilia Twinch. 5 sessions, time 7.00 - 8.30pm. Venue in London W14; full address on booking. Advance reservation essential. E-mail: temenosacademy@myfastmail.com
University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education:
Wednesday 18 April to Wednesday 16 May 2012
The Gemstones Of Wisdom: Readings From Ibn 'Arabî's 'Fusus Al-Hikam'
This course will focus on the famous work of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240), reading and discussing the chapter on 'The wisdom of exaltedness in the word of Ishmael'. It will be led by Jane Clark and Stephen Hirtenstein, and will take place on Wednesday evenings over five weeks from Wednesday 18 April to Wednesday 16 May 2012. www.conted.ox.ac.uk
Viaje y Creacion / Travel and Creation, The Third IBAFF Film Festival, Murcia, Spain
5-10 March 2012
Call for film entries by October 31st 2011.
IBAFF takes its name from the Ibnarabi Film Festival. During the course of the festival there will be a symposium on the life and ideas of Ibn 'Arabi.
Please see the IBAFF website for further information (Spanish/English).