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.
Symposiums in Murcia and Oxford
La razón inspirada y el camino del corazón
7th to 8th March 2014, Murcia, Spain
The 3rd International Symposium of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society Latina, in conjunction with IBAFF.
The full title of the symposium is: La razón inspirada y el camino del corazón - En homenaje a María Zambrano / 'Inspired Reason and the Way of the Heart - A tribute to Maria Zambrano'
Programme to follow see MIAS Latina. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society Latina (MIAS Latina) is an independent association which was established in Murcia, Spain in 2011.
'Jesus and Mary – A Mystical Perspective'
24th and 25th May 2014, St Anne's College, Oxford.
The 31st annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society in the UK.
Speakers and provisional titles of papers
- Denil Gril (France)
- Sa'diyya Shaikh (South Africa)
- Stephen Hirtenstein (Oxford): Reviving the dead : Ibn 'Arabi as the Heir to Jesus
- Michael Sells (Chicago)
- Zahra Langhi (Libya & Egypt)
- Jaume Flaquer (Barcelona)
More details available soon.
Other events
Young Writer Award 2013
The Society is delighted to announce the "Young Writer Award 2013". This is an award of US$ 1,000 for an unpublished essay concerning the teachings of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi by an author under the age of 35. The deadline for entries is 1st October 2013.
These are the criteria for entry:
- The author must be under the age of 35 on 31st December 2013 (i.e. born on or after 1st January 1979).
- The essay must be in English, and not more than 9000 words in length (excluding any notes, references, bibliography and summary).
- It must be the original work of the person submitting it, and be unpublished at the time of entry,
- The submission must be prefaced by a short summary of between 100-150 words.
- The submission should include a bibliography and be page-numbered throughout. Citations and quotations must be fully referenced.
- Previous entrants can re-submit, but previous winners cannot.
To see more information about how to enter and a simple entry form, click here.
We would like to make the prize as widely known as possible, and so would be very grateful if you would consider forwarding information about this to any friends or colleagues whom you think would be interested in entering.
This is an A4 poster which is designed to be displayed on notice-boards in order to publicise this opportunity even more widely. If you have easy access to such a place, we would be grateful if you could print it out and pin it up. Download it here.
University of Oxford – Department of Continuing Education
Islamic Mystical Poetry
Islamic mystical poetry is one of the world's great literary traditions, covering a period of 1400 years and encompassing a huge variety of cultures and languages – Arabic, Persian, Turkish etc. It is testament to the extraordinary depth and coherence of the vision of Islam. Very different from the theological and legal understandings, it speaks to all human beings of the inherent love and yearning for the divine, of devotion and the ecstatic experience of union with the divine.
Course 4
Wednesday 9th October to Wednesday 6th November, 2013. Jane Clark and Stephen Hirtenstein.
In this fourth course, we will again study the middle 'classical' period (13th C), focusing on the work of four major Sufi poets from different areas of the Islamic world: Rumi (d. 1273), Shushtari (d. 1269), Sa'di (d. 1291) and Baba Farid (d. 1265). All poems will be studied in English translation, and the focus will be on drawing out their meaning and universal relevance to the human condition. No previous knowledge or attendance of courses is required. More information.
Course 5
Wednesday 22nd January to Wednesday 19th February, 2014. Jane Clark and Stephen Hirtenstein.
In this fifth course, we will study the later 'classical' period (14th C), focusing on the work of four major Sufi poets from different areas of the Islamic world: Shabistari (d. 1340), Hajji Bayram (d. 1430), Amir Khusraw (d. 1325) and Hafez (d. 1389). All poems will be studied in English translation, and the focus will be on drawing out their meaning and universal relevance to the human condition. No previous knowledge or attendance of courses is required. More information.
Fes Festival of Sacred Music
13th/21st June 2014, Fes, Morocco. Theme: The Conference of the Birds.