EPISODE · Dec 6, 2025 · 48 MIN
Sufism, Reform, and Modern Islam: Interview with Professor Oliver Scharbrodt (Lund University)
from Immortal Echoes, Mortal Words · host Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
What happens to Sufism when Muslim societies modernize? In this interview, I host Professor Oliver Scharbrodt to explore the transformation of Sufism from the premodern to the modern period, the place of reformist thinkers, and the complex relationship between Sufism, modernity, and political activism. 🎙 Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani About the Guest: Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies, Lund University. Specialist in Sufism, Islamic modernity, and intellectual history. Author of numerous works on Sufi authority, reform, and Muslim intellectual traditions. Key themes in this interview: How Sufism changed from premodern to modern contexts – Whether Sufism was actually marginalized or productively reinvented How major reformers like Jamal al-Din Asadabadi (al-Afghani) and Muhammad ‘Abduh drew on Sufi thought The distinction between tasawwuf (Sufism) and ‘irfān (gnosticism, mysticism, mystical philosophy) Neo-Sufi organizational models in modern activism The importance of ethical self-cultivation, spiritual discipline, and walāya Why scholars must rethink the simplistic “Sufism vs Reform” dichotomy Recommended Works by Prof. Scharbrodt Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2022. Muhammad 'Abduh: Modern Islam and the Culture of Ambiguity: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/muhammad-abduh-modern-islam-and-the-culture-of-ambiguity/ Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2020. Anti-Sufism in Early Qajar Iran: Āqā Muḥammad ‘Alī Bihbahānī (1732–1801) and His Risāla-yi khayrātiyya: https://www.cmes.lu.se/oliver-scharbrodt/publication/75aaf880-e655-4bdc-a39e-fd32242de3d6 Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2010. The Qutb as Special Representative of the Hidden Imam: The Conflation of Sufi and Shi‘i Concepts https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/the-qutb-as-special-representative-of-the-hidden-imam-the-conflat/ Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2007. The Salafiyya and Sufism: Muhammad 'Abduh and his Risālat al-Wāridāt (Treatise on Mystical Inspirations) https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/the-salafiyya-and-sufism-muhammad-abduh-and-his-ris%C4%81lat-al-w%C4%81rid%C4%81/ Prof. Scharbrodt’s Recommendation: Most Comprehensive Modern Study of Sufism: Sirriyeh, Elizabeth, 1998. Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defence, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World: https://www.routledge.com/Sufis-and-Anti-Sufis-The-Defence-Rethinking-and-Rejection-of-Sufism-in-the-Modern-World/Sirriyeh/p/book/9780700710607 Books for Rethinking Orientalist Lenses & Understanding Islam’s Ambiguity Ahmed, Shahab. 2015. What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691164182/what-is-islam?srsltid=AfmBOorzhRRZHf0lJqV9eFyW1QCQELQHmH16lY1QSb_7oSdoc6xpefti Bauer, Thomas. 2021. A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-culture-of-ambiguity/9780231553322/ Visit our Academy of Mystic Poetics and Philosophy, and check out our courses: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/courses If you enjoy the content and wish to support our work, your generosity helps us continue creating: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/donations My recent publications: https://istanbul.academia.edu/RasoulRahbariGhazani #Sufism #IslamicStudies #ModernIslam #IslamicReform #Tasawwuf #Irfan #Mysticism #IslamicPhilosophy #ibnarabi
What this episode covers
What happens to Sufism when Muslim societies modernize? In this interview, I host Professor Oliver Scharbrodt to explore the transformation of Sufism from the premodern to the modern period, the place of reformist thinkers, and the complex relationship between Sufism, modernity, and political activism. 🎙 Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani About the Guest: Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies, Lund University. Specialist in Sufism, Islamic modernity, and intellectual history. Author of numerous works on Sufi authority, reform, and Muslim intellectual traditions. Key themes in this interview: How Sufism changed from premodern to modern contexts – Whether Sufism was actually marginalized or productively reinvented How major reformers like Jamal al-Din Asadabadi (al-Afghani) and Muhammad ‘Abduh drew on Sufi thought The distinction between tasawwuf (Sufism) and ‘irfān (gnosticism, mysticism, mystical philosophy) Neo-Sufi organizational models in modern activism The importance of ethical self-cultivation, spiritual discipline, and walāya Why scholars must rethink the simplistic “Sufism vs Reform” dichotomy Recommended Works by Prof. Scharbrodt Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2022. Muhammad 'Abduh: Modern Islam and the Culture of Ambiguity: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/muhammad-abduh-modern-islam-and-the-culture-of-ambiguity/ Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2020. Anti-Sufism in Early Qajar Iran: Āqā Muḥammad ‘Alī Bihbahānī (1732–1801) and His Risāla-yi khayrātiyya: https://www.cmes.lu.se/oliver-scharbrodt/publication/75aaf880-e655-4bdc-a39e-fd32242de3d6 Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2010. The Qutb as Special Representative of the Hidden Imam: The Conflation of Sufi and Shi‘i Concepts https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/the-qutb-as-special-representative-of-the-hidden-imam-the-conflat/ Scharbrodt, Oliver. 2007. The Salafiyya and Sufism: Muhammad 'Abduh and his Risālat al-Wāridāt (Treatise on Mystical Inspirations) https://portal.research.lu.se/en/publications/the-salafiyya-and-sufism-muhammad-abduh-and-his-ris%C4%81lat-al-w%C4%81rid%C4%81/ Prof. Scharbrodt’s Recommendation: Most Comprehensive Modern Study of Sufism: Sirriyeh, Elizabeth, 1998. Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defence, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World: https://www.routledge.com/Sufis-and-Anti-Sufis-The-Defence-Rethinking-and-Rejection-of-Sufism-in-the-Modern-World/Sirriyeh/p/book/9780700710607 Books for Rethinking Orientalist Lenses & Understanding Islam’s Ambiguity Ahmed, Shahab. 2015. What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691164182/what-is-islam?srsltid=AfmBOorzhRRZHf0lJqV9eFyW1QCQELQHmH16lY1QSb_7oSdoc6xpefti Bauer, Thomas. 2021. A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-culture-of-ambiguity/9780231553322/ Visit our Academy of Mystic Poetics and Philosophy, and check out our courses: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/courses If you enjoy the content and wish to support our work, your generosity helps us continue creating: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/donations My recent publications: https://istanbul.academia.edu/RasoulRahbariGhazani #Sufism #IslamicStudies #ModernIslam #IslamicReform #Tasawwuf #Irfan #Mysticism #IslamicPhilosophy #ibnarabi
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Sufism, Reform, and Modern Islam: Interview with Professor Oliver Scharbrodt (Lund University)
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