Marcia Hermansen

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Marcia Hermansen is an American scholar of Islam originally from Canada. Hermansen is professor and director of Islamic World Studies at Loyola University Chicago. [1]

Contents

Biography

Hermansen earned a PhD from the University of Chicago in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Her graduate training included study of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu though language training in the respective countries. She specializes in Sufism, Islamic thought, Muslims in America, Shah Waliullah, [2] Islam and Muslims in South Asia, and women and gender in Islam. [3] [4] Hermansen is a Muslim. [5]

Hermansen has studied modern Sufi movements and has described movements which hold that Sufism is part of broader, eternal spirituality as "Perennial Movements" and movements which require adherence to Islamic tradition as "Hybrid Movements", utilizing the metaphor of a garden and flowering plants to describe the diversity of modern American Sufi movements. "Transplants" in the garden refers to Sufi groups in the West that primarily attract immigrants from Muslim societies. [6] [7] She has also studied Muslim youth culture and identity. [7] Hermansen's work examined young American Muslims identity post-9/11. [5] [8]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism</span> Body of mystical practice within Islam

Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chishti Order</span> Sufi mystic order in Islam

The Chishtī Order is a tariqa, an order or school within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. It began with Abu Ishaq Shami in Chisht, circa 930 AD in a small town near Herat, a strategic city in then Eastern Persia, which later became independent and then part of Afghanistan.

<i>Wali</i> Arabic term meaning "master", "authority", "custodian", or "protector

A wali, the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend of God".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barelvi movement</span> South Asian Islamic revivalist movement

The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah is a Sunni revivalist movement following the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence, and Maturidi and Ashʿari schools of theology with strong Sufi influences and with over hundreds of millions of followers in South Asia and also in parts of Europe, America and Africa. It is a broad Sufi-oriented movement that encompasses a variety of Sufi orders, including the Chistis, Qadiris, Soharwardis and Naqshbandis as well as many other orders and sub-orders of Sufism. They consider themselves to be the continuation of Sunni Islamic orthodoxy before the rise of Salafism and Deobandi Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayazid Bastami</span> 9th-century Persian Sufi mystic

Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī, was a Persian Sufi from north-central Iran. Known to future Sufis as Sultān-ul-Ārifīn, Bisṭāmī is considered to be one of the expositors of the state of fanā, the notion of dying in mystical union with Allah. Bastami was famous for "the boldness of his expression of the mystic’s complete absorption into the mysticism." Many "ecstatic utterances" have been attributed to Bisṭāmī, which lead to him being known as the "drunken" or "ecstatic" school of Islamic mysticism. Such utterance may be argued as, Bisṭāmī died with mystical union and the deity is speaking through his tongue. Bisṭāmī also claimed to have ascended through the seven heavens in his dream. His journey, known as the Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī, is clearly patterned on the Mi'raj of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Bisṭāmī is characterized in three different ways: a free thinking radical, a pious Sufi who is deeply concerned with following the sha'ria and engaging in "devotions beyond the obligatory," and a pious individual who is presented as having a dream similar to the Mi'raj of Muhammed. The Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī seems as if Bisṭāmī is going through a self journey; as he ascends through each heaven, Bisṭāmī is gaining knowledge in how he communicates with the angels and the number of angels he encounters increases.

Ahl-i-Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan. It is an offshoot of the 19th-century Indian Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya movement tied to the 18th-century traditions of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and the Wahhabi movement. The adherents of the movement described themselves variously as "Muwahideen" and as "Ahl e-Hadith".

Syed Nazeer Husain Dehlawi was a scholar of the reformist Ahl-i Hadith movement. Earning the appellation shaykh al-kull for his authority among early Ahl-i Hadith scholars, he is regarded, alongside Siddiq Hasan Khan (1832–1890), as the founder of the movement and has been described as "perhaps the single most influential figure in the spread of the Ahl-i-Ḥadīth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laleh Bakhtiar</span> Iranian-American academic

Laleh Mehree Bakhtiar was an Iranian-American Islamic and Sufi scholar, author, translator, and psychologist. She produced a gender-neutral translation, The Sublime Quran, and challenged the status quo on the Arabic word daraba, traditionally translated as "beat" — a word that she said has been used as justification for abuse of Muslim women.

Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was a Hanafi jurist, rationalist scholar, Maturidi theologian, philosopher and poet. He was an activist of the Indian independence movement and campaigned against British occupation. He issued an early religious edict in favour of doing military jihad against British colonialism during 1857 and inspired various others to participate in the 1857 rebellion. He wrote Taḥqīqulfatvá fī ibt̤āl al-t̤ug̲h̲vá in refutation of Ismail Dehlvi's Taqwiyat al-Imān and authored books such as al-S̲aurah al-Hindiyah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism in India</span> History of Islamic mysticism in India

Sufism has a history in India evolving for over 1,000 years. The presence of Sufism has been a leading entity increasing the reaches of Islam throughout South Asia. Following the entrance of Islam in the early 8th century, Sufi mystic traditions became more visible during the 10th and 11th centuries of the Delhi Sultanate and after it to the rest of India. A conglomeration of four chronologically separate dynasties, the early Delhi Sultanate consisted of rulers from Turkic and Afghan lands. This Persian influence flooded South Asia with Islam, Sufi thought, syncretic values, literature, education, and entertainment that has created an enduring impact on the presence of Islam in India today. Sufi preachers, merchants and missionaries also settled in coastal Gujarat through maritime voyages and trade.

Muhammad Abdul Haq Ansari was an Islamic scholar from India. He was the Amir (president) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) from 2003 to 2007. He was the member of Central Advisory Council of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. He was also the Chancellor of Al Jamia Al Islamia, Shantapuram, Kerala. His book Sufism and Shariah is a synthesis of Sufi and Shariah thought, especially a Tatbiq of Shaikh Ahmed Sir Hindi and Shah Waliullah's thought. It grew out of his in-depth engagement with kalam, tasawwuf and fiqh in Islamic history. His other major contributions are a book on Mishkawah's philosophy and an English translation of Ibn Taymiyyah's fatwas with an introduction. He also wrote 'Learning the Language of Quran' it is one of the best English guides for the beginners learning to read the Qur'an. In New Delhi he established the Islami Academy, aimed at training graduates from secular educational background in Islamic Sciences based on the madrasa curriculum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shattari</span> Sufi mystic order in Sunni Islam

The Shattari or Shattariyya are members of a Sufi mystical tariqah that originated in Persia in the fifteenth century C.E. and developed, completed and codified in India. Later secondary branches were taken to Hejaz and Indonesia. The word Shattar, which means "lightning-quick", "speed", "rapidity", or "fast-goer" shows a system of spiritual practices that lead to a state of "completion", but the name derives from its founder, Sheikh Sirajuddin Abdullah Shattar.

Shah Abdur Rahim was an Islamic scholar and a writer who assisted in the compilation of Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, the voluminous code of Islamic law. He was the father of the Muslim philosopher Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. He became a disciple of Khwaja Khurd son of Khawaja Baqi billah a revered Sufi of Delhi. He established Madrasa Rahimiyya in Delhi, a theological college which later played a part in the religious emancipation of Muslim India and became the breeding ground of religious reformers and mujahideen like Shah Waliullah and Shah Abdul Aziz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism in Pakistan</span> History of Islamic mysticism in Pakistan

Sufism known as Tasawwuf in the Arabic-speaking world, is a form of Islamic mysticism that emphasizes introspection and spiritual closeness with Allah. It is a mystical form of Islam, a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for the God and shuns materialism. About 60% Muslims in Pakistan regard themselves as followers of Sufi saints.

Shah Wali Ullah Nagar is a neighborhood in Orangi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Waliullah Dehlawi</span> Indian Muslim scholar (1703–1762)

Qutb ud-Din Ahmad ibn ʿAbd-ur-Rahim al-ʿUmari ad-Dehlawi, commonly known as Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, was an Islamic scholar seen by his followers as a renewer. He emphasized the importance of following Sharia and believed in the unification of Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of law, aiming to reduce legal differences. Waliullah advocated for a direct understanding of the Qur'an and promoted interpretations closest to its literal meaning, encouraging a contextual approach rather than strict adherence to a specific school.

Khwaja Hasan Nizami was a Sufi of Chishti Islamic order, a known Urdu essayist and humorist and satirist who wrote many essays for the Mukhzun Akhbar (Magazine). He wrote more than 60 books he also wrote about the incidents of war of 1857 while Mulla Wahidi, writes that he had over five hundred books on an amazing variety of subjects to his credit. Being a Sufi he had many disciples and it appeared in his literature.

Zainab Alwani is an American activist and Islamic scholar. She is Founding Director and Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Howard University School of Divinity.

Victor Danner was a Mexican-American author, researcher, and translator specializing in comparative religion and Islamic mysticism.

Debra Mubashshir Majeed was an American religious historian, activist and womanist.

References

  1. "Faculty & Staff Directory - Marcia Hermansen, PhD". Loyola University Chicago.
  2. "Ghazali of subcontinent: 'Shah Waliullah was a modern social reformer'". The Express Tribune. 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  3. "Marcia Hermansen Archives". Fons Vitae Publishing. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  4. "Prof. Marcia K. Hermansen - Loyola University Chicago". mherman.sites.luc.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  5. 1 2 Skerry, Peter. "Problems of the Second Generation: To be Young, Muslim, and American". Brookings. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  6. Cesari, Jocelyne (2004). When Islam and Democracy Meet: Muslims in Europe and in the United States. palgrave macmillian. p. 52. ISBN   0312294018.
  7. 1 2 Yazbeck-Haddad, Yvonne; Smith, Jane I.; Moore, Kathleen M. (2006). Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today. Oxford University Press. pp. 160, 163. ISBN   9780195177831.
  8. Meudini, Fait (2009). "Muslim American College Youth: Attitudes and Responses Five Years After 9/11" (PDF). The Muslim World: 41–42.
  9. Reviews of The Conclusive Argument from God: Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi’s Hujjat Allāh al-Bāligha:
    • Schmidtke, Sabine (1997). "The Conclusive Argument from God: Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi's Hujjat Allāh al-Bāligha". Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 31 (2): 169–170. doi:10.1017/s0026318400035690. ISSN   0026-3184.
    • Lewisohn, Leonard (2000). British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 216-220
  10. Reviews of Muslima Theology The Voices of Muslim Women Theologians:
    • Wadud, Amina (2014) Theological Studies. Vol. 75 Issue 4, p. 951
    • Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Vol. 105 (2015), pp. 468-471