Decolonial Islamic Spiritualities

Decolonial Islamic Spiritualities

In the academic year 2020-2021, Habib University’s program in Comparative Humanities and the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies launched a fortnightly webinar series titled, Islam After Colonialism. The series charted the dramatic transformations – under the devastating global impact of modern apartheid colonial rule – in the nature of ‘Islam’ in South Asia, across culture, religion, politics, society and the arts. In the event, the series received tens of thousands of views per webinar, across global regions and groups, indicating the extensive public interest in the topic.

The decolonial question of alternative pasts and futures was an important part of Islam After Colonialism, given that contemporary concepts and imaginations of history, religion, politics, culture and ethics remain hostage to the modern colonial heritage. This year, our new series Decolonial Islamic Spiritualities, while remaining in a similar constellation of concerns and perspectives, extends beyond South Asia, as well as focusing in on the spiritual, ethical and religious resources and potentialities that have been marginalized or obscured through the co-optation of ‘religion’ by colonialism and its inheritor, nationalism. In an increasingly troubled world, Decolonial Islamic Spiritualities are essential to the conceptual and existential strength of individuals and communities as they strive towards futures that are reparative rather than destructive.

Fall 2021: Decolonial Islamic Spiritualities Webinar Series part 1

Click on the links below to watch the webinars:

  1. Episode 1: “Islamic Ethics, Modernity and the Films of Majid Majidi”
  2. Episode 2: “Writing Muharram: Imperial Cultures and Cultural Representations of Shi’i Iran, 1687 -1879”
  3. Episode 3: “Embodying our Scholar Selves: Bringing Praxis and Compassion into the study of Islamic Spirituality”
  4. Episode 4: “Decolonizing the Muslim Mind: Islam, Spirituality, and Human Flourishing”
  5. Episode 5: “Decolonizing Sufism: Sufism between Apolitical “Moderate “Islam and New Age Appropriation”
  6. Episode 6: “Decolonizing Bāṭiniyya: Islamic Esotericism Beyond Corbinophilia and Traditionalism”