CSI Monday Majlis: Cyrus Zargar

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Religion of Love considers the Persian poet Ê¿Aṭṭār from perspectives beyond the literary—as a thinker who responded to the crisis of religious learning in his day. Using original translations of Ê¿Aṭṭār’s poetry, Zargar makes a case for the relevance of the poet’s Sufi-informed perspective to contemporary contexts. Ê¿Aṭṭār’s poems comment on the tensions between revelation and the intellect, as well as the transformative ability of love as a remedy for self-centeredness. Through a system of symbols and narratives, Ê¿Aṭṭār applies his vision of the self and the world to a formative moment in Islam’s intellectual history.

Cyrus Ali Zargar is Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida. Zargar’s research interests focus on the metaphysical, aesthetic, and ethical intersections between Sufism and Islamic philosophy. His most recent books include, Religion of Love: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of Ê¿Aṭṭār; The Ethics of Karbala: Myths, Modernity, and Virtues of Nobility; and The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism.