SUNY Press recently published “Sufism and American Literary Masters” edited by Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of Philosophy and Religion.

Here is the forward by Jacob Needleman:

“This book reveals the rich, but generally unknown, influence of Sufism on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American literature. The translation of Persian poets such as Hafiz and Sa’di into English and the ongoing popularity of Omar Khayyam offered intriguing new spiritual perspectives to some of the major American literary figures. As editor Mehdi Aminrazavi notes, these Sufi influences have often been subsumed into a notion of “Eastern,” chiefly Indian, thought and not acknowledged as having Islamic roots. This work pays considerable attention to two giants of American literature, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, who found much inspiration from the Sufi ideas they encountered. Other canonical figures are also discussed, including Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, along with literary contemporaries who are lesser known today, such as Paschal Beverly Randolph, Thomas Lake Harris, and Lawrence Oliphant.”

Medhi Aminrazavi, professor of classics, philosophy and religion on the cover of St. Joseph’s College Magazine

Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of classics, philosophy and religion, was featured on the cover of St. Joseph’s College Magazine after serving as the Khatib Chair in Comparative Religious Studies at St. Joseph College for the past year. As part of this position, Aminrazavi gave a weekly lecture series on Shi’ism in Iran with two keynote presentations.

Medhi Aminrazavi, professor of classics, philosophy and religion, delivered the The Dr. Reza and Georgianna Clifford Khatib Chair in Comparative Religion Sixth Annual Lecture at St. Joseph’s College on Thursday, April 3 and Thursday, April 10. His lecture was titled “Shi’ism and the Politics of the Hidden Imam.”

Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of philosophy and religion presented a paper entitled “Mysticism in Islamic Philosophical Tradition: Hindrance to Rationalism or Perfection of Reason” at the  Symposium on the Middle Ages (Mystik im Mittelalter Gegensatz oder Vollendung der Vernunft?)  at Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany. Feb. 26, 2014.

Mehdi Aminrazavi, professor of classics, philosophy and religion, co-director of the Leidecker Center for Asian Studies, has received an Award for Outstanding Service from the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education, for facilitating the hosting of Leila Asadi at UMW from 2011 to 2012.

“Presented with sincere appreciation and in recognition of the extraordinary commitment you have demonstrated to preserving the life, voice, ideas, and work of a persecuted scholar by providing a safe academic haven.”