SEMENSUF | Seminal Sufism in Motion: The Oldest Extant Arabic Encyclopedia of Islamic Mysticism and its Dissemination

Summary
SEMENSUF is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project at the crossroads of philology, intellectual history, and material culture that adopts basic tools of digital humanities for Arabic literary and religious studies. It aims at providing an open-access scholarly edition and lucid, knowledge-sharing English annotated translation of the oldest extant encyclopaedia of Islamic Mysticism, the Book of Flashes in Sufism by Abū Nasr al-Sarrāj (d. 988). Through its innovative method, SEMENSUF aims at laying the foundations for a new historical and textual approach to the editing of early Sufi sources: the philological atomization of the work in textual units, the study of the manuscript transmission and material culture, and the digitization of later related sources are critical for shedding light on channels of knowledge transmission, centers of learning, and scholarly networks in early Sufism and more broadly in Islamic culture.
SEMENSUF strongly believes that editing and translating a 1000-year-old work of mysticism can have a major impact on European multicultural and multifaith societies. In fact, the Book of Flashes tackles several intra- and extra Islamic issues that are still very much relevant to today’s Europe: it highlights how mysticism is and should be considered a genuinely component of Islam, invalidating most contemporary Neo-Salafi claims to the contrary; more importantly, the Book of Flashes reflects a strong concern for and appraisal of heterogeneity and pluralism within Islam. It is a hymn to diversity and to coexistence of different practices and sensibilities which collaborate rather than compete, resulting in a shared spirituality. SEMENSUF thus aims at having an impact on European pluralistic society by making available, to a wide audience, a universal text which will stimulate a reflection on mysticism as a safe space for intercultural and interfaith pluralism, dialogue, and inclusivity.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101150744
Start date: 01-09-2024
End date: 31-08-2027
Total budget - Public funding: - 254 979,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

SEMENSUF is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project at the crossroads of philology, intellectual history, and material culture that adopts basic tools of digital humanities for Arabic literary and religious studies. It aims at providing an open-access scholarly edition and lucid, knowledge-sharing English annotated translation of the oldest extant encyclopaedia of Islamic Mysticism, the Book of Flashes in Sufism by Abū Nasr al-Sarrāj (d. 988). Through its innovative method, SEMENSUF aims at laying the foundations for a new historical and textual approach to the editing of early Sufi sources: the philological atomization of the work in textual units, the study of the manuscript transmission and material culture, and the digitization of later related sources are critical for shedding light on channels of knowledge transmission, centers of learning, and scholarly networks in early Sufism and more broadly in Islamic culture.
SEMENSUF strongly believes that editing and translating a 1000-year-old work of mysticism can have a major impact on European multicultural and multifaith societies. In fact, the Book of Flashes tackles several intra- and extra Islamic issues that are still very much relevant to today’s Europe: it highlights how mysticism is and should be considered a genuinely component of Islam, invalidating most contemporary Neo-Salafi claims to the contrary; more importantly, the Book of Flashes reflects a strong concern for and appraisal of heterogeneity and pluralism within Islam. It is a hymn to diversity and to coexistence of different practices and sensibilities which collaborate rather than compete, resulting in a shared spirituality. SEMENSUF thus aims at having an impact on European pluralistic society by making available, to a wide audience, a universal text which will stimulate a reflection on mysticism as a safe space for intercultural and interfaith pluralism, dialogue, and inclusivity.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01

Update Date

22-11-2024
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.2 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
HORIZON.1.2.0 Cross-cutting call topics
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023