[review] Islamitische spiritualiteit tussen beleving en analyse
Van den Bos, M. 1996. "Islamitische spiritualiteit tussen beleving en analyse [Islamic spirituality in between experience and analysis]." Review of Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, ed. 1991. Islamic Spirituality: Manifestations. Soera. Tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten 4 (3): 40-2.
LIturgia de los mundos
Published in 'Achipiélago: cuadernos de crítica de la cultura' 66 (2005), pp. 141-142.
Review of Henry Corbin's 'Templo y contenplación' and 'Tiempo cíclico y gnosis ismailí'. Review of Henry Corbin's 'Templo y contenplación' and 'Tiempo cíclico y gnosis ismailí'.
Download (.pdf) Roots of Modern Shiite Sufism in Iran
Van den Bos, M. 2000. "Roots of Modern Shiite Sufism in Iran." ISIM Newsletter (5): 18.
Notes on Sufism and Freemasonry in Iran, 1900-1997
Van den Bos, M. 2003-2004. "Notes on Sufism and Freemasonry in Iran, 1900-1997." Journal of the History of Sufism 4 241-53.
On Sufism and the "Social"
Van den Bos, M. 2004. On Sufism and the "Social". In Celebrating a Sufi Master. A Collection of Works on the Occasion of the Second International Symposium on Shah Nematollah Vali, (ed.) S. Pazouki. New York: Simorgh Sufi Society, pp. 113-19.
[review] Die alevitische Religion: Traditionslinien und Neubestimmungen
Van den Bos, M. 2004. Review of Dressler, Markus. 2002. Die alevitische Religion. International Journal of Middle East Studies 36 (1): 149-51.
[review] Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions
Van den Bos, M. 2005. Review of Bashir, Shahzad. 2004. Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nurbakhshiya between Medieval and Modern Islam. Die Welt des Islams 45 (2): 253-55.
'Abdollah Entezam: A New Perspective on 'Erfan and Sufism
Van den Bos, M. 2005. 'Abdollah Entezam: A New Perspective on 'Erfan and Sufism. In Religion and Politics in Modern Iran, (ed.) L. Ridgeon. London: I.B. Tauris, pp. 149-62.
Qom anti-Sufi violence - provisional one-year timeline
Van den Bos, M. 2006. Qom anti-Sufi violence - provisional one-year timeline. http://icchome.org/main/hosseinieh.aspx. [not online anymore, apparently]
Las Navas de Tolosa, the urban transformation of the Maghrib, and the territorial decline of al-Andalus
Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies, special issue commemorating the 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, perhaps the most famous battle fo the reconquista.
The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa occurred in the context of a major transformation of the Iberian Peninsula and the... more The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa occurred in the context of a major transformation of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghrib. This article foregrounds the urban transformation of the Far Maghrib, with the emergence of large-scale state formation, and argues that the displacement of Muslim political and military power from the peninsula to the Far Maghrib was a key reason for the marginalization and territorial decline of al-Andalus during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Viewed in this context, the loss at Las Navas de Tolosa was but one of the results of larger socio-historical processes. These included the intensification of commercial contacts – across the Sahara, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Christian– Muslim frontier – the militarization and solidification of the frontier in the social imagination of Muslim and Christian societies, and the appearance of new popular religious movements.
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Unsur-unsur Sufisme Neo-Tradisional di Iran
Van den Bos, M. 2008. Unsur-unsur Sufisme Neo-Tradisional di Iran [Translation of 2007. Elements of Neo-Traditional Sufism in Iran]. In Urban Sufism (eds) M.v. Bruinessen & J.D. Howell. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, pp. 63-88.
Elements of Neo-Traditional Sufism in Iran
Van den Bos, M. 2007. Elements of Neo-Traditional Sufism in Iran. In Sufism and the Modern in Islam (ed.) M. van Bruinessen. London: I.B. Tauris, pp. 61-75.
[revised edition] Sufi authority in Khatami’s Iran
Van den Bos, M. 2008. “Sufi authority in Khatami’s Iran.” [Revised edition]. In Sufism. Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies. Vol. 3: Ritual, Authority, and Word (ed.) L. Ridgeon. London: Routledge, pp. 203-33.
The Sufis of Karaj are Under Pressure
Van den Bos, M. 2009. The Sufis of Karaj are Under Pressure. [Translation of anti-Gonabadi Sufi pamphlet of 19 pp. published and distributed in Karaj in January 2007]. http://www.insideofiran.com/en/?p=894 (accessed 16 March 2009).
Dhahabiyya
Van den Bos, M. [Forthcoming]. Dhahabiyya. In Encyclopaedia of Islam III (eds) K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas & E. Rowson. Leiden [etc.]: Brill.
Shi'a Isma'ili Muslim Christology: Jesus in Classical Isma'ili Thought
Presented at "The Christology Symposium: Multiple Perspectives within Christianity and Islam" held at the University of Toronto (St. Michael's College), March 15, 2012
“…the conditions of the dialogue between Christianity and Islam change completely as soon as the interlocutor... more
“…the conditions of the dialogue between Christianity and Islam change completely as soon as the interlocutor represents not legalistic Islam but this spiritual Islam, whether it be that of Sufism or of Shi‘ite gnosis.”
(Henry Corbin, Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth, Prologue)
Khalil Andani’s presentation titled "Shi‘a Isma‘ili Muslim Christology: Jesus in Classical Isma‘ili Thought" summarized some of the classical Isma‘ili Muslm perspectives on Jesus which stem from the Fatimid Isma‘ili discourse on the absolute transcendence of God, the Universal Intellect (al-‘aql al-kull), and the Cycles of the Natiqs (Prophets) and the Imams. The presentation concluded by sharing an Isma‘ili ta’wil (esoteric interpretation) of the Christian Cross and the Islamic Shahada as outlined in the writings of Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani and Ja’far ibn Mansur al-Yaman which demonstrate the ecumenical and pluralistic approaches of the Fatimid Isma‘ili thinkers.
They Killed Him Not: The Crucifixion in Shi'a Isma'ili Islam
This article explains the Isma‘ili Muslim understanding of the Qur’anic verses on the Crucifixion, the meaning... more
This article explains the Isma‘ili Muslim understanding of the Qur’anic verses on the Crucifixion, the meaning of the Crucifixion in Isma‘ili eschatology and the esoteric exegesis (ta’wil) of the Cross, according to the Isma‘ili philosophers. These Isma‘ili
Muslim perspectives were articulated in the tenth and eleventh century when Isma‘ili philosophy underwent a great flowering. But there is reason to believe that such perspectives, due to their pluralistic, ecumenical and esoteric outlook, can play a great role in the modern age towards opening further doors of understanding and recognition between the faiths of Christianity and Islam.
The Metaphysics of the Common Word: A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma'ili Gnosis (Part 1)
This essay—the first of two parts—presents a comparative dialogue between the Trinitarian metaphysics of Christianity... more This essay—the first of two parts—presents a comparative dialogue between the Trinitarian metaphysics of Christianity as taught by Meister Eckhart and the metaphysics of Islam as elucidated in Shi'a Isma'ili theosophy. This important study, which we believe to be the first of its kind, compares the three Persons of the Christian Trinity with the three highest hypostases of Isma'ili gnosis. In this first installment, the author puts forth the premises for a metaphysical dialogue and outlines the correspondence between the degrees of Beyond-Being and Being as described by Meister Eckhart and the Isma'ili theosophers. This is followed by a detailed comparison of the Eckhartian notion of the Godhead (Gottheit) and the Isma'ili concept of the Divine Essence or the Originator (al-Mubdi) as well as their respective apophatic discourses on the nature of the Ultimate Reality. The first part concludes with a comparison of Eckhart's concept of the Father and the Isma'ili concept of the Divine Command (Amr) in light of the concept of Pure Being. The second installment, which will continue the metaphysical and hypostatic comparisons, is to be published in volume 27 of Sacred Web.