Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is one of the world’s leading experts on Islamic science and spirituality and University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic, European, and Asian languages, Professor Nasr is a well-known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world. Born in Tehran, raised from the age of twelve in the United States, and a graduate of MIT and Harvard, Nasr is well positioned to explain Islam to a Western audience, appearing recently on Meet the Press, as well as other national news shows.

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Islam/Middle East

The Garden of Truth

The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition

Talking Points

SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR is one of the world’s leading experts on Islamic science and spirituality and University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic, European, and Asian languages, Professor Nasr is a well-known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world. Born in Tehran, raised from the age of twelve in the United States, and a graduate of MIT and Harvard, Nasr is well positioned to explain Islam to a Western audience, appearing recently on Meet the Press, as well as other national news shows.

Description

Sufism has made significant contributions to the spread of Islam and the development of various aspects of Islamic civilization (e.g., the Sufi poet Rumi is the best-selling poet in America). Many conservative Muslims disagree with many popular Sufi practices, particularly saint worship, the visiting of tombs, and the incorporation of non-Islamic customs. Consequently, in recent centuries Sufism has been a target for Islamic reformist and modernist movements. 

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