Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam

We are honoured to welcome Professor Claudia Yaghoobi as one of our keynote lecturers at our international conference 'Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World’.

In her lecture entitled 'From Tehran to Los Angeles: Armenian Women's Journey Through Love, Family, and Cultural Expectations', Professor Yaghoobi will delve into the complex experiences of dating and inter-religious/racial relationships from the viewpoint of Iranian Armenian women in Iran and the United States.

You are all welcome to attend her lecture! Entrance is free, but registration compulsory as seats are limited (send an email to [email protected]).

Date: Thursday 5 September from 3 -4 pm.

Location: Utrecht University, Academy Building, Domplein 29, Belle van Zuylen Hall.

Please also check our website www.beyondsharia.nl for other events/blogs/publications.

(Painting on the poster is by Iranian Armenian artist Sato A.)

5 Sept 2024: Keynote lecture by Professor Claudia Yaghoobi (University of North Carolina) On Thursday 5 September Professor Claudia Yaghoobi will be a keynote lecturer at our conference ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World’.

On Thursday 5 September the much respected Professor Dominic Parviz Brookshaw (University of Oxford) will give a keynote lecture at our conference ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World’.

In his keynote lecture entitled “I Am That Woman: gendered transgression in the feminine mufākhara from Padishah Khatun, through Tahira Qurrat al-‘Ayn, to Simin Bihbahani”, Professor Brookshaw will examine a chain of self-praise poems penned by female poets writing in Persian that stretches from the late thirteenth century to the early twenty-first century.

You are all welcome to join! Entrance is free, but registration compulsory as seats are limited (send an email to [email protected]).

Location: Utrecht University, Academy Building, Domplein 29, Belle van Zuylen Hall

Please also check our website www.beyondsharia.nl for other events/blogs/publications.

Image on poster: Portait of a Woman, mid-16th Century, attributed to Iran (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451086)

5 Sept 2024: Keynote lecture by Professor Dominic Parviz Brookshaw (University of Oxford) On 5 September Professor Dominic Parviz Brookshaw from the University of Oxford will give a keynote lecture at our conference ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World’.

You are all welcome to join our coming conference in which we will explore how Iranian literati, from early Islam up to modern times, expressed their extreme views against the established orthodoxy and Islamic piety, often risking their own lives!

Entrance is free, but registration compulsory ([email protected])

5-6 September: Conference ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World On 5 and 6 September 2024, we are organising the international conference entitled Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Utrecht University. This conference is part of the ERC Advanced Grant...

In the past months we have been working on a video series on our research project. In eight short videos our team members give you a glimpse of the topics they are working on. See the results below!
We want to thank our colleagues Renée Tuijnman and Hans Schuurman for all their time and effort they put into these fantastic videos.

with Asghar Seyed Gohrab, Alexandra Nieweg, Amin Ghodratzadeh, Arash Ghajarjazi, Fatemeh Naghshvarian, Leila Rahimi Bahmany, Maarten Holtzapffel and Zhinia Noorian.

Video series on Beyond Sharia project In the past months we have been working on a video series on our research project. In eight short videos our team members give you a glimpse of the topics they are working on. We want to thank our colleagues Renée Tuijnman and Hans Schuurman for the fantastic videos they made of us.

Read this fantastic new blog by our team member Fatemeh Naghshvarian on romantic ascetics and epic lovers!

Romantic Ascetics and Epic Lovers: Persian narrative poetry (mathnavīs) is mostly known for its monumental lovers. The names of Vīs and Rāmīn, Leylī and Majnūn, Shīrīn and Khusrow, are familiar to the ears of Persian readers and their stories are well-known. The heroic journey of the lover-protagonists, who go through various...

Read the wonderful new blog post by our team member Fatemeh Naghshvarian, in which she elaborates on the poetry by Rumi (d.1273) and the way in which he defines the Truth.

The Elephant Parable (First published on Utrecht Religie Forum on March 24 2024)

On 11 april 2024, film director, author and artist Marjane Satrapi will give an online lecture.

You are all welcome to join! Visit our website to register(compulsory):
beyondsharia.nl/2024/03/21/11-april-2024-online-lecture-by-marjane-satrapi.

11 April 2024: Online lecture by Marjane Satrapi On 11 April 2024, the famous film director, author and script writer Marjane Satrapi, will give an online lecture entitled ‘Women, Life, Freedom’, during our international conference ‘Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature’. You are all welcome to join!

11 APRIL 2024 online lecture MARJANE SATRAPI

On 11 April 2024, film director, author and artist Marjane Satrapi will give an online lecture during our international conference 'Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature'. Please all join. Entrance is free! Visit our website to register (compulsory): https://beyondsharia.nl/event/conference-femininity-and-masculinity-in-persian-literature/

A new blog post by Asghar Seyed-Gohrab on the use of parables in Persian literature!

A Persian Parable on Humility (First published on Parabelproject on August 27 2021)

On 11 April 2024, the famous film director, author and artist Marjane Satrapi will give an online lecture during our international conference 'Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature'. Please all join! To register send an email to [email protected]. To see the whole programme, visit our website www.beyondsharia.nl.

On 11 April 2024, well-known professor Dick Davis (Ohio State University) will be one of the keynote lecturers at our conference 'Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature'. Check our website www.beyondsharia.nl to see the programme of our conference. Entrance is free, but registration is compulsory since seats are limited (send an email to [email protected]). [email protected]. Entrance is free.

Are you interested in Persian culture and literature?

Then do not miss our coming conference on 11 and 12 April in which top scholars from all over the world will elaborate on femininity and masculinity in Persian literature and culture. There will be lectures by Prof. dr. Dick Davis (Ohio State University), Prof. dr. Christine van Ruymbeke (University of Cambridge), Prof. dr. Domenico Ingenito (UCLA), film director, author and artist Marjane Satrapi and many others!

Entrance is free, but registration is compulsory since seats are limited (please mail to [email protected]).
See our website www.beyondsharia.nl to check the programme of the conference, to see more of our upcoming events or to read our blogs.

11-12 April 2024: International conference ‘Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature’ Image: Reclining Figure | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org) On Thursday 11 and Friday 12 April, we are organising an international conference entitled ‘Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature’.

In his latest blog (in Dutch), Asghar Seyed-Gohrab demonstrates how deeply antinomian motifs of classical Persian love poetry are embedded in contemporary Persian culture. He does this by analyzing a love song of one of the most famous Persian singers, Dariush Eqbali (born 1951).

Een Perzische Valentijn: “Ik kniel voor je neer, geen deur naar de Kaaba is open” (Eerst gepubliceerd op Utrecht Religie Forum op 13 februari 2024)

You are all welcome to join our international conference on Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature.
Just send an email to [email protected] to register (entrance is free).

11-12 April 2024: International conference ‘Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature’ Image: Reclining Figure | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org) On Thursday 11 and Friday 12 April, we are organising an international conference entitled ‘Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Literature and Culture’.

What is the difference between the representation of Rūmī as a messenger of ‘love’ online, and in his own poetry?
Read all about it below in the new blog by our team member Zhinia Noorian.

King and Concubine: Is Rūmī As Forgiving in Love as He is Depicted Online? Rūmī is often represented worldwide for his rich repertoire of love poetry. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are permeated with ‘translated’ lines attributed to Rūmī on love. With a brief context, this blog juxtaposes love in the poetry of this Sufi Persian poet with its...

We are honoured to inform you about the keynote lecture on 12 April 2024 by Professor Domenico Arturo Ingenito, the author of Beholding beauty: Sa'di of Shiraz and the aesthetics of desire in medieval Persian poetry (Leiden, 2020) and the editor and translator of Forough Farrokhzad collected poems: من از نهایت شب حرف می‌زنم / Io parlo dai confini della notte/ I speak from the edges of the night (Bompiani 2023) at Utrecht University, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

To attend, please send an email to [email protected].
Also see our website: www.beyondsharia.nl

We are very much pleased to announce the keynote lecture on 12 April 2024 by Professor Christine van Ruymbeke, the eminent specialist of the Persian poet Nezami of G***a, and the author of several volumes on Persian culture among which Science and Poetry in Medieval Persia: The Botany of Nizami’s Khamsa, (Cambridge, 2007); The Interpretation of Nizami’s Cultural Heritage in the Contemporary Period, (Berlin, 2020), and A Key to the Treasure of the Hakim. Artistic and Humanistic Aspects of Nizami G***avi’s Khamsa (Leiden, 2011).

Please register by sending an email to [email protected].
Also see our website: www.beyondsharia.nl.

On 11 April 2024, well-known professor Dick Davis (Ohio State University) will be one of the keynote lecturers at our conference 'Femininity and Masculinity in Persian Culture and Literature'. Seats are limited, so to register, please send an email to [email protected]. Entrance is free!

Call for papers!

On 5 and 6 September 2024, we are organising an international conference entitled 'Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World' at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Utrecht University. This conference is part of the ERC Advanced Grant 'Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam'. Are you interested in participating? The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 15 February 2024.

Call for Papers: ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World’ On 5 and 6 September 2024, we are organising an international conference entitled ‘Limits, Boundaries, and Transgression in Literatures and Languages of the Persianate World‘ at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. This conference is part of th...

Komt allen! Aanstaande zaterdag 13 januari zal Asghar Seyed-Gohrab een lezing geven in boekhandel Perdu te Amsterdam over de prachtige dichtkunst van de Perzische dichter en soefimeester Rumi. Kaarten (7,50 euro) zijn verkrijgbaar via de website van Perdu.

Uitnodiging! Op 13 januari organiseert ZemZem een Perzische poëzie-ochtend in Poëzieboekhandel Perdu in Amsterdam. Asghar Seyed-Gohrab geeft een lezing over de liefdespoëzie van de Perzische dichter en soefimeester Rumi. Seyed-Gohrab is hoogleraar Perzische en Iraanse studies aan de Universiteit Utrecht en stelde samen met zijn promovendus Maarten Holtzapffel en het onderzoeksteam van het Beyond Sharia-project het katern samen van het ZemZem-nummer over Rumi. De poëzie-ochtend zal plaatsvinden op 13 januari. Toegangskaarten (7,50) zijn verkrijgbaar va de website van Perdu.

Uitnodiging! Op 13 januari organiseert ZemZem een Perzische poëzie-ochtend in Poëzieboekhandel Perdu in Amsterdam. Asghar Seyed-Gohrab geeft een lezing over de liefdespoëzie van de Perzische dichter en soefimeester Rumi. Seyed-Gohrab is hoogleraar Perzische en Iraanse studies aan de Universiteit Utrecht en stelde samen met zijn promovendus Maarten Holtzapffel en het onderzoeksteam van het Beyond Sharia-project het katern samen van het ZemZem-nummer over Rumi. De poëzie-ochtend zal plaatsvinden op 13 januari. Toegangskaarten (7,50) zijn verkrijgbaar va de website van Perdu.

Yesterday we had a wonderful event at the KNAW in Amsterdam, where our Beyond Sharia team spoke about the famous poet and mystic Rumi. There were also performances by the famous author Kader Abdolah, author and sociologist Shervin Nekuee and musicians Balout Khazraei en Hamid Reza Behzadian. Recordings of the event are available via the channel below!

Rumi en de religie van de liefde Dit jaar is het 750 jaar geleden dat Rumi overleed. Hij behoort tot de islamitische intellectuele dichters die kritische vragen stelden over de meest heilige...

Today our Beyond Sharia team will give lectures on the famous poet and mystic Rumi at the KNAW in Amsterdam. There will also be performances by the famous author Kader Abdolah, author and sociologist Shervin Nekuee and musicians Balout Khazraei en Hamid Reza Behzadian. The event is sold out but you can follow everything by livestream. See below!

Rumi en de religie van de liefde - KNAW Dit jaar is het 750 jaar geleden dat Rumi overleed. Hij behoort tot de islamitische intellectuele dichters die kritische vragen stelden over de meest heilige islamitische begrippen, doctrines en rituelen zoals de bedevaart naar Mekka, het drinken van wijn en homo-erotische liefde.

A fantastic blog by Maarten Holtzapffel about a new aspect of Rumi’s reception history, analyzing why Rumi and Erasmus are portrayed on a mural in the city of Rotterdam. Enjoy this read!!

Rūmī and Erasmus: Humanism from East and West Mural painting of Rūmī and Erasmus by Ahmad Haraji at Erasmusstraat 137, Rotterdam As a high school student I have biked numerous times through the Erasmusstraat in Rotterdam, but never did I pay much attention to the somewhat hidden mural painting at Erasmusstraat 137. The painting depicts Muslim...

Poëzieliefhebbers opgelet! Op 13 januari organiseert ZemZem een Perzische poëzie-ochtend ter ere van de publicatie van het nieuwe nummer, met als thema Rumi. Deze feestelijke ochtend staat in het teken van de dichtkunst uit het Perzisch taalgebied. Naast een lezing door prof. Seyed-Gohrab over Rumi's liefdesgedichten draagt de filmmaakster en dichter Nafiss Nia voor uit eigen werk. Toegangskaarten (7,50) zijn verkrijgbaar via de website van Perdu. De lezing is bestemd voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd is in het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en de islam en is een uitstekende gelegenheid om gelijkgestemden te ontmoeten.

This fascinating blog, by our team member dr. Arash Ghajarjazi, illustrates the reception of a 13th century quatrain ascribed to ʿUmar Khayyām by a 21st century painter, offering a modern reading of the quatrain through the paintings of Sinur.

A Smile without a Mouth This blog offers a modern reading of a quatrain attributed to ʿUmar Khayyām through a painting.

Save the date: op 13 januari organiseert ZemZem in poëziecentrum Perdu een evenement rondom de verschijning van het Rumi-nummer. Het wordt een feestelijke aangelegenheid, met o.a. een lezing over Rumi door prof. Asghar Seyed-Gohrab , een poëzievoordracht en Iraanse lekkernijen. Houd onze socials in de gaten voor meer informatie en bestel alvast het Ruminummer met 2 euro korting (9,95 in plaats van 11,95).

prof. Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, hoogleraar Perzisch aan de UU, stelde met promovendus Maarten Holtzapffel deze ZemZem over Rumi samen. Trouwe ZemZemvolgers kennen Seyed-Gohrab nog van zijn voordracht over een andere Perzische dichter, Hafez, bij de lancering van het Verhalennummer (Pintohuis, '22). Het nieuwe nummer komt half december uit en is nu vast te bestellen in de webshop.