Omid Safi

Presentations at academic conferences

Organized a panel on "Progressive Islam," at the Study of Islam section of the American Academy of Religion, November 23, 2003.

“Double Critique of Progressive Muslims”, at the Study of Islam section of the American Academy of Religion, November 23, 2003.

“On the Path of Love Towards the Divine:  A Journey with Muslim Mystics,” as part of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning at the American Academy of Religion, November 2002.  (paper read)

"Discursively Homeless, Physically Exiled: ‘Ayn al-Qozat Hamadani in Search of Place” in the Sufism and Society Project conference at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, May 4, 2001.

“Praising Iblis from the Pulpit: Beyond Convenient Pigeon-holes of 'Orthodoxy' and ‘Esotericism’,” in a conference on Esoteric Knowledge and Social Imaginary in Medieval Islamicate Culture, at New York University, February 16 and 17, 2001. Conference organized by Department of Middle Eastern Studies and History, NYU.

Organized a panel on “Taking the Qur'an to Heart: Sufi Approaches to the Qur'an”, American Academy of Religion, November 20, 2000  “‘The Qur'an inscribed on the heart is the Preserved Tablet’:  Ayn al-Qozat Hamadani's Vision of the Qur'an”, American Academy of Religion, November 20, 2000.

Organized a panel on “New Methodological Approaches to the Study of Rumi and His Legacy,” Middle Eastern Studies Association, Orlando, FL. November 16, 2000.

“Historical Connections between Rumi and Ibn al-‘Arabi,” Middle Eastern Studies Association, Orlando, FL. November 16, 2000.

“Contextualizing Critiques of Women's Political Endeavors in Medieval Islamic Society,” American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA., November 20, 1999.

Organized a panel on “Mew Methodological Approaches to the Study of Women and Islam,” American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA., November 20, 1999.

“Love Theory of ‘Ayn al-Qozat Hamadani,” Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science. Binghamton, NY, October, 24, 1999.

“Mulla Sadra and the Synthesis of Persian Sufi Poetry into an Akbarian Metaphysical Framework,” Mulla Sadra Conference, sponsored by the Sadra Islamic Philosophy Research Institute, Tehran, Iran, May 1999.

“When Titans Clash: Exploring Historical Connections between Rumi and Ibn ‘Arabi through Shams al-Din Tabrizi,” Ibn ‘Arabi Conference, Oxford. April, 1999.

Invited academic presentations

University of Wisconsin, on “Satan, Love, and Tragedy in Islam,” April 9, 2004.

University of Wisconsin, on "Islam and Pluralism," April 8, 2004.

University of Miami in Ohio, on Islam in America.  Feb. 5, 2004.

Baldwin Wallace College, on Progressive Islam.  February 4, 2004.

Harvard Divinity School, on “Progressive Islam between Feminism and Pluralism,” November 12, 2003.

Harvard Divinity School, on “Immigration, Nationalism, and American Muslim Community,” November 13, 2003.

Brandeis University, on “Islamophobia and Occidentosis,” November 13, 2003.

Boston College, on Progressive Islamic interpretations, November 13, 2003.

Lehigh University, on “Beyond Clash of Civilizations:  A Progressive Muslim Critique,” November 4, 2003.

Swarthmore College, on “A Progressive Muslim Quest:  On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism,” November 3, 2003.

University of British Columbia, “Rumi:  A Journey from the 13th century to Contemporary Spirituality,” October 21, 2002.

University of British Columbia, “Devil's Advocates:  Satan as the Perfect Lover of God,” October 21, 2002.

Swarthmore College, “The Americanization of Rumi,” April 12, 2002.

Georgia State University, “Universalism in Islamic Thought,” Feb. 19, 2002.

Oberlin College, “Hearing Islam: Muslim Musical Traditions in Context,” January 31, 2002.

Hamilton College, “Seeking a Peaceful Path Post-9/11,” September 29, 2001.

Cornell University, “God, Love, and Satan in Persian Sufism,” May 1, 2001.

Cornell University, “From Persian Saint to American Pop Icon: The Post-death Career of Rumi,” May 1, 2001.

Amherst College, “Rumi's Path of Transformation: Love and Adab (beautiful manners) in the Sufi Path to God,” April 14, 2001.

University of Arkansas, “Shams-e Tabrizi between Hagiography and his Maqalat,” April 6, 2001.

Amherst College, Sufism and Society Project.  October 6-8, 2000.