BEACON OF KNOWLEDGE:

CONFERENCE IN HONOR OF PROFESSOR SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR

Friday and Saturday November 2-3, 2001 Marvin Center H and 21st Streets The George Washington University Washington, D.C.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Friday, November 2
8.00-:8:30 AM 8:30-8:45 8:45-9:00 Registration and Coffee Welcoming Remarks Stephen Trachtenberg President, The George Washington University Keynote Speech John Esposito Director, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding Georgetown University Panel One: Testimonials From The Peddie School to University Presidency

9:00-9:30

9:30-11:00

Chair: Mohammad Faghfoory Peter Flesenthal Sanford Nemitz Azizah al-Hibri Nasir Assar Mohsen Shirazi David Burrell

11:00-12:30

Panel Two: The Sacred and Identity Crisis in the Modern World

Chair: David Cain

David Cain Onenessand Oneness Mary E. Tucker The Growing Alliance of Religion and Ecology Mohammad H. Faghfoory Iranian Identity: Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Concepts of Iraniyyat and Islamiyyat Gisela Webb Themes of Wisdom in Dialogue: Pedagogical Possibilities of Metaphysics in Undergraduate Teaching Discussant: Mary Tucker

12:30-2:00

Lunch Break Special Presentation

2.00-2:45

Keith Critchlow Geometry as the Symbol of "Permanence" in an Impermanent World Panel Three: Islamic and Perennial Philosophy

2:45-4.00

Chair: Mehdi Aminrazavi Hossein Ziai Dialogue and Suhrawardi's Philosophical Allegories Sachiko Murata Origin and Return in the Islamic Philosophy of China Mehdi Aminrazavi Mantiq al-Mashriqiyyin: Whose Logic and Which Orient? Patrick Laude Seyyed Hossein Nasr in the Context of the Perennialist School: Esoterism and Tradition. Discussant: Hossein Ziai

4:00-4:15:00

Coffee Break

4:15-:5:45

Panel Four: Islamic Art and Spirituality

Chair: Keith Critchlow Emma Clark Symbolism of Traditional Islamic Dress Amira el-Zein Poetry as Unveiling the Sacred
Latimah-Parvin Peerwani Abu Htim al-Rzi on the Essential Unity of Religions

John Voll Understanding Sufism: Nasr's Contribution Beyond Orientalism and Area Studies

Discussant Keith Critchlow

Calligraphy by Muhammad Zakariya and Paintings by Vicente Pascual

Saturday, November 3
9.00-10:30 Chair: Osman Bakar Oliver Leaman Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Defense of Traditional Science Panel Five: Philosophy and Science in the Islamic World

Osman Bakar Seyyed Hossein Nasr as a Traditional Philosopher of Science Laleh Bakhtiar Traditional Psychology and the Concept of the Self Ibrahim Kalin Reading the Book of Nature: Science and Beyond Discussant: Oliver Leaman

10:30-10:45

Coffee Break

10:45-12:30 Chair:

Panel Six: Sufism and Spirituality Mohammad H. Faghfoory Luce Lopez-Baralt The Philomene of St. John of the Cross: Virgils Sorrowful Nightingale or the Sufis Singer of Ecstasy? William Chittick The Real Shams-i Tabrizi Alan Godlas Surrendering to God: The View of Ruzbihan and Early Sufi Qur'anic Commentators--And Its Importance Today Mohiaddin Mesbahi and Farhang Rajai A Muslim Paradox in the New Millennium

Discussant: William Chittick

12:30-2.00

Lunch Break

2:00-3:30

Panel Seven: Philosophical Language and Culture

Chair: Ramin Jahanbegloo Ali Gheissari Formalism and Substance in Modern Philosophical Persian
Ramin Jahanbegloo The Concept of Truth in the Thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore and Seyyed Hossein Nasr: A Comparative Approach.

Ibrahim Pourhadi Public and Private Libraries in the Islamic World Caner Dagli Onthe Possibility of an Islamic Philosophical Tradition in English Discussant: Ali Gheissari

3:30-4:45

Panel Eight: Islam and Issues in the Contemporary Muslim World

Chair: Azizah al-Hibri Abdallah Schleifer Traditional Islam in the Modern World: The Problematic Ironies of Islamization Jane Smith Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Muslim-Christian Encounter Ejaz Akram Unity Vs. Uniformity: Seyyed Hossein Nasrs Views On the Political Unity of Muslims Waleed al-Ansary Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Contribution to Environmental Economics Discussant: Abdallah Schleifer

4:45-5:00

Coffee Break

5:00-6:00

Reflections: SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR

6:00-6:15

Concluding Remarks and Presentation of Appreciation Plaque to Professor Nasr By his Students.

6:15:7:30 8:00-10:00

Dinner
Concert: Traditional Persian Music Marvin Center Amphitheatre (1st floor)

ABSTRACTS Ejaz Akram, Unity Vs. Uniformity: Seyyed Hossein Nasrs Views On the Political Unity of Muslims This paper examines the works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Allamah Muhammad Iqbal and Jamal-al-Din Asadabadi (al-Afghani) to demonstrate similarities and/or differences of opinion among Muslim thinkers regarding Muslim unity. Views of these authors on unity range from political unity, to economic or functional unity, to spiritual unity. In the post World War I period, the idea of nation-state took firm root in the non-Western world. Muslims had separate political entities and identities for centuries, but nationalism as an ideology was completely new to them. In the 20th century, nationalism became the slogan of nation-states in the Muslim world to rally for independence on the one hand; and on the other, it locked Muslim peoples in small political and economic units that were to become too weak as actors at the systemic level. Leading Muslim intellectuals and scholars have dealt with how to best overcome the fragmentation of Muslim regions. Seyyed Hossein Nasrs views on this issue are unique because he calls for intellectual and spiritual unity in all walks of Muslim life upon which rests the contingence of other forms of unity. Mehdi Aminrazavi, Mantiq al-mashriqiyyin: Whose Logic and Which Orient? This paper discusses the controversy concerning Ibn Sinas Oriental Philosophy. The controversy concerning this book stems from Ibn Sinas use of the word mashriqiyyin and what he means by it. Whereas such figures as Henry Corbin and Seyyed Hossein Nasr argue extensively for an ishraqi reading of what Ibn Sina might have meant by mashriqiyyin, some other scholars who oppose this view have argued against the presence of an Oriental Philosophy in its ishraqi sense. The purpose of this paper is neither to present an exhaustive discussion of how should al-Hikmah almashriqiyyah be understood nor to settle the controversy, but to present a summary of the history of the debate and offer a rapprochement to the problem. It will be argued that the discussion among the two opposing views has become so interrelated with different ways of reading Islamic philosophy in general, and Ibn Sina in particular, that a more simple analysis and solution to the problem has been ignored. Osman Bakar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr as a Traditional Philosopher of Science Seyyed Hossein Nasr is a philosopher of science in the real sense of the word as demonstrated by his invaluable contribution to a wide range of philosophical issues pertaining to science and scientific thought. In philosophizing about scientific thought, not only does Nasr dwell on the different meanings and appreciation of science across cultures, but also draws clearly the legitimate epistemological boundaries that separate science from other branches of knowledge. He offers a powerful critique of modern science, its philosophical worldview, and its very character that arises from its methodological limitations and intellectual pretensions. Nasr delivers his critique of modern science based on his conviction that there exists another conception of science far superior to the modern one that is more harmonious

with other domains of human thought. He maintains that science should be cultivated within the conceptual framework furnished by traditional cosmology. Nasr presents himself as a traditional philosopher of science to be distinguished from the majority of contemporary philosophers of science. This paper discusses the main elements of his philosophical thoughts on science that have propelled him into the international limelight as a leading traditional philosopher of science and as the greatest Muslim philosopher of science to have lived in the last one century. Laleh Bakhtiar, Traditional Psychology and the Concept of the Self A fundamental premise of traditional science of the soul is that we are what we think. The modern world tries to change our God-given nature (fitrat Allah) by chipping away at the human beings innate beliefs. The contrast between the traditional understanding of the human soul and modern theories of the self is unmistakable and only a return to traditional psychology and the concept of the self will ensure the survival of traditional Islam. David Cain, Seyyed Hossein Nasr has been a pioneering figure in the arena of interfaith dialogue and religious pluralism. An appreciation of the brilliance, breadth, and depth of the reflection of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in the context of Muslim-Christian dialogue and in regard to religious diversity and unity will be discussed.

William Chittick, The Real Shams-i Tabrizi The mythic aura surrounding Rumis teacher Shams-i Tabriz appeared already during his own lifetime, and it has only increased since his death. Now that Rumi has become almost a household name in North America, the myth-making has been taking us even further from the real Shams. A look at some of his own sayings as recorded in his Maqalat can help clarify his position in relation to Rumi. Emma Clark, Symbolism of Traditional Islamic Dress Muslim intellectual community and those involved in studying and teaching Islamic and traditional art owe much to Dr. Nasr for writing about the spiritual in art, and its inward dimension, not just the historical, archaeological and aesthetic data collected by most Western art historians. All this has begun to change very recently and is in large part due to Dr. Nasr - building upon such prominent thinkers as T. Burckhardt and A. K. Coomaraswamy. This paper examines aspects of the symbolism of traditional dress, in particular traditional Islamic male dress. I was inspired by a point that Dr. Nasr made in a lecture on Islamic Art and Spirituality given in London several years ago at the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture. In outlining the hierarchy of the Islamic arts, he suggested that after psalmody (the chanting of the Qur'an) and calligraphy (the visual representation of the word of God) could be placed the art of Dress, above architecture even, since not only does clothing both veil and reveal our souls, but also it is, along with language and the upright posture, a prerogative of man. The paper will focus on the sacred meaning of traditional dress in general and the quintessential Islamic dress in particular - the jallaba - which symbolizes the spiritual

vision of al-Islam more than any of the other traditional garments from the Islamic world. Keith Critchlow, Geometry as the Symbol of "Permanence" in an Impermanent World Geometry is the Study of the Eternally True (Plato). Geometry is central to the Islamic genius and thus its arts. The night sky for desert peoples is not only fundamental to the geometry of light but also the symbol of "permanence" in an impermanent world. It is necessary to have certainty to posit uncertainty - a simple point lost on the modernist mind but central to the wisdom of all human traditions. As Plato spoke of the necessity of studying geometry in a healthy society, Ibn Arabi made it central to his emanational theory of the created order. No philosopher or visionary has done more than Seyyed Hossein Nasr in bringing authoritative theosophical and philosophical understanding to the contemporary mind. The modern mind, locked as it is into a parody of a religion with a Quantum Mechanic at the helm, and uncertainty and evolution as axioms, has been consistently challenged for its naivet by Dr. Nasr. If the whole magnificent array of the Natural Order was the result of a random "Big Bang", from where did order, let alone the human intellect, come from? There is nothing in the actuality of our experienced universe that is causeless, so what caused the "Big Bang"? Such questions Dr. Nasr has consistently posed and not having been adequately answered, he has posed them again and again with adroit heroism. Caner Dagli, On the Possibility of an Islamic Philosophical Tradition in English This paper explores in a preliminary way the possibility of creating a new conceptual language in English within the Islamic philosophical tradition. The recent work of the late Mahdi Hairi Yazdi on epistemology was a major step in introducing the insights of Islamic philosophy to the West in a language that was more than mere translation. However, there is an even further possibility of philosophical exposition, which is to take the most fundamental insights that Islamic philosophy has to offer, especially what might be called the school of wahdat al-wujud, and forge an authentically Western conceptual hierarchy that places itself firmly in the Islamic tradition. I will examine possible conditions that must be fulfilled in order for such a system to be created, as well as the criteria by which it could still be called a traditional Islamic philosophy. I will also discuss the advantages of embarking on such a project taking into account the current state of philosophy in general. Waleed El-Ansary, Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Contribution to Environment Economics Neoclassical environmental economics argues that negative externalities such as pollution can be corrected by creating additional markets that trade pollution rights. According to the neoclassical view, differences of opinion regarding the right level of pollution can be resolved in the market without the need for ethical analysis and discussion. Neoclassical theory has therefore attracted a great deal of criticism from many environmentalists. These critics often object that neoclassical economic theory is based upon pure greed, and excludes ethical concern for the environment.

However, economists respond that the neoclassical approach does not (necessarily) assume that individuals are self-interested, and that neoclassical economic theory accommodates any set of values and tastes. In this debate, economists have, by and large, prevailed. This paper examines the writings of Seyyed Hossein Nasr as they contribute to this debate, alter its outcome, and transform the nature of environmental economic education. Amirah El-Zain, Poetry as Unveiling the Sacred Poetry is the quintessential art of gathering what is ramified in the microcosm and in the macrocosm, hence it is the Center of the heart of human being. Seyyed Hossein Nasrs poetry is at the heart of all his writings. This paper deals with his concept of poetry in general, and focuses on his Poems of the Way, in particular. It will be demonstrated that Nasrs poetry is a synthesis of all his works, a kind of testament in the sense that it condenses the essential themes that he expounds in his books, such as sacred nature, the Edenic origin of human beings, the whirling cosmos, the unity of existence, and the union with the Beloved. To find how this poetry unifies his whole work, this paper will ultimately look at the correlation which exist between Poems of the Way and the rest of his work, especially Knowledge and the Sacred, Religion and the Order of Nature, and his many articles on Sufi poetry in general, and on Jalal alDin Rumi in particular. Mohammad H. Faghfoory, Iranian Identity: S. H. Nasr and the Concepts of Iraniyyat and Islamiyyat Since the Arab conquest of Persia in 16/637, Iran has been an important member of the Islamic community. Iranians accepted Islam, but unlike Egyptians, they kept their Persian identity. This situation created a permanent tension in Persian culture and society between different components of Iranian identity. With the emergence of modern nationalism during the nineteenth century the debate about Iranian identity intensified and became a serious intellectual and political issue There are two extreme positions regarding this question. While one group of Persian thinkers attempted to define Iranian identity within the context of Pre-Islamic Persia, the other seeks this identity only in the context of Shiite Islam. There is also another approach, which has its roots in the historical realities and experiences of Iran. What does it mean to be an Iranian, and what is the role and place of Islam and more specifically Shiism in this identity. Professor Nasrs entire intellectual career has centered around creating balance between different components of Iranian identity by highlighting the essential connection that has existed in Persian culture between man and God before as well as after the arrival of Islam in Iran. This paper examines S.H Nasrs treatment of this subject as reflected in some of his writings, speeches, and personal interviews, and will attempt to demonstrate the historical validity of his argument. Alan Godlas, Surrendering to God: The View of Ruzbihan and Early Sufi Qur'anic Commentators And Its Importance Today While one can glean from the Qur'an and hadith a foundational understanding of surrendering, Ruzbihan al-Baqli of Shiraz in his Ara'is al-bayan -- along with pre-Ibn 'Arabi Qur'anic exegetes such as Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulamiand his ninth and

tenth century AD sources-- builds upon this foundation and expresses a number of aspects of the act of surrendering to God. In these disturbing times in which we live, when the consequences of resistance to surrendering are made uncomfortably clear to us, it is particularly important to shed light on surrendering and especially its relationship to knowledge and love of God.

Ramin Jahanbegloo, The Concept of Truth in the Thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore and Seyyed Hossein Nasr: A Comparative Study In developing the creative outlook of the dialogue of cultures and religions I intend to examine the two conceptions of truth expressed by Rabindranath. Tagore and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. For Nasr, the universal conception of truth that has always characterized Islamic philosophy is not bound by the limits of reason. For him philosophy turns from an attempt to describe man and the cosmos through a rational system to the possibility of a vision of the spiritual universe. In other words, for Nasr the problem of truth is related to a philosophical position whose perspective is nothing but one Reality expressed by the eternal sophia. This ideal of Unity and universality developed by Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his philosophy can be found in the humanistic approach of Tagore in his idea of creative unity of humanity and divinity as perfectly realized and manifested through the idea of Spiritual Union. For Tagore the truth of man is the unity or harmony in human life. As a result of this, the truth as universal unity is to be realized in the process of developing peace in human life and society and fostering unity in diversity. Both Tagore and Nasr believe in religion as man's concern for the goal of life. This wider view of Universalism based on the unity of truth in both these thinkers can be considered as the fundamental basis of unity of human culture and dialogue among civilizations. Ibrahim Kalin, Reading the Book of Nature: Science and Beyond Many attempts have been made in the last two centuries to recover the vision of science as a way of reading the book of nature. Those who have argued against the philosophical claims of modern science have been insistent on articulating a philosophical framework for the justification and operation of natural sciences. S. H. Nasr has been a pioneering figure in establishing a discourse conducive to the articulation of such a framework. This paper will seek to critically evaluate Nasrs attempt to move the current discourse from the level of the philosophy of science in which discussions of methodology take prime importance to the level of the metaphysics of science in which science can be construed as a way of reading the book of nature. Seen under this light, the traditional conception of science defended by Nasr goes beyond the confines of the modern definition of the term and presents itself as a metaphysical Weltanschauung, blurring the distinction between philosophy and science. In this regard, Nasrs approach to science can be compared to Heideggers critique of modern science and technology. This paper will explore the implications of this approach for the ongoing debate on religion and science in both the Islamic and Western worlds.

Patrick Laude, Seyyed Hossein Nasr in the Context of the Perennialist School: Esoterism and Tradition. This paper is an attempt at defining and situating the originality of Seyyed Hossein Nasr's intellectual contribution within the context of the Perennialist School. The focus is on the writings of Nasr that directly pertain to the universalist dimension of the perennial philosophy, more specifically as it is expressed in Frithjof Schuon's works. In this connection, this study is primarily centered upon Nasr's magnum opus Knowledge and the Sacred, as well as upon his own introduction to and edition of the Essential Writings of Frithjof Schuon. The meaning and implications of the two keynotions of Tradition and esoterism are closely examined in the works of both writers. Seyyed Hossein Nasr's work is envisaged both as a brilliant continuation and as a specific approach of Schuon's intellectual and spiritual perspective. Oliver Leaman, Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Defense of Traditional Science One of the leading contributions that Dr. Nasr has made to contemporary thought is his attempted vindication of what he has called traditional science, and his critique of positivism in science. This has been connected to his attack on forms of philosophy which do not acknowledge the significance of the mystical and what is beyond experience, and also on a limited concept of knowledge. Islamic philosophy, at its best, is regarded by him, as incorporating a far more rounded version of human thought than the narrow forms of Western philosophy and knowledge. How plausible is this idea, and what arguments are there that traditional science, in its widest sense, incorporates where science ought to be going? Finally, how distinctive is his Islamic philosophy and science as compared with other cultural forms of knowledge in representing the traditional? Luce Lopez-Baralt, The Philomene of St. John of the Cross: Virgils Sorrowful Nightingale, or the Sufis Singer of Ecstasy? Saint John of the Cross ornithological symbols are among the most mysterious in Renaissance Spains mystical poetry. Miguel Asin Palacios and myself have traced an impressing number of the Spanish poets symbols to Sufism. I am happy now to add a new symbol to our ever increasing list of shared spiritual metaphors: the nightingale. In his Spiritual Canticle, St. John alludes to the famous bird under the Greek name of Philomene: el canto de la dulce Filomena that is, Philomenes sweet song. The Western reader, used to the melancholic bird of Virgil, of Petrarch, of Camoens, and of Garcilaso de la Vega--among so many European poets--is tempted to think that he is rewriting the old poetical leit-motiv. Philomenes song is tragic in Western traditional poetry because according to Greek mythology, she was both profaned in her honor and robbed of her nest. Thus, she sings eternally her sad nocturnal song. To the readers' surprise, St. John's nightingale, a symbol of the soul, sings the joy of mystical ecstasy. Her song is so powerful that trees and flowers of the garden join her in enraptured dance. This cosmic music associated with nightingale, unheard of in the European classical tradition, is however, a commonplace of Sufi poetry. Rumi,

Ruzbehan Baqli, al-Kubra, among many others, celebrated the same ecstatic bird as St. John of the Cross. Thus, we are forced to conclude that despite her Greek name, St. Johns nightingale is really the very same bolbol of Sufi tradition. Muhiaddin Mesbahi and Farhang Rajaee, A Muslim Paradox in the New Millennium The life and career of Seyyed Hossein Nasr presents a puzzle to outsiders. How could he manage to have the impact and achieve the respect and following he has in a period where the odds were against the multidimensional heritage he represented? He began his career in the West just as he had lost whatever he had made --a career, home, and a rich library-- to the revolution that swept his homeland in 1979. Then he moved into an environment that, to say the least, was not friendly to the two important components of his national and religious identity, Iran and Islam. This was all the more detrimental as he publicly professed and openly defended both. Ironically, though the richness of these two sources may have helped him most for building his future, his successful working of the triangle of Islam, Iran and Nasr points to the secret of a rich and sophisticated legacy. To be so effective and yet to shun Islam either as ideology, conventional orthodoxy, or liberal apology, is a rare feat in the annals of Muslim intellectual achievements; converting without proselytizing, consolidating without ideologizing, explaining without apologizing. Each angle of this triangle is multi-layered, comprehensive, dynamic and with contrary dimensions. Here we concentrate only on one of them, namely the complexity of Seyyed Hossein Nasr as a Muslim intellectual in the new millennium; unitarian, traditional, mystic, modern and indigenous, on stage locally and globally. Sachiko Murata, Origin and Return in the Islamic Philosophy of China Tien-fanghsing-li or The Philosophy of Islam a book published in 1704 by Liu Chih, is commonly considered the most influential text on Islam in the Chinese language. In setting down the basic themes of Islamic thought, Liu Chih focuses on tawhid and the manner in which it demands the two complementary movements of manifestation and reintegration. Although the basic scheme can easily be understood in terms of Islamic categories, it is presented in the language of Neo-Confucianism. Latimah-ParvinPeerwani, Abu Htim al-Rzi on the Essential Unity of Religions This paper discusses the public debates that occurred between the 10th century Ismili philosopher Abu Htim al-Razi, and his contemporary Muhammad Zakaria al-Razi, the famous physician and philosopher. What prompted the debates was al-Razis fierce attack on prophethood, his condemnation of all prophets as evil souls who set people against each other and caused wars in the world. The basis of his view was that all the revealed books, i.e., the Bible, the New Testament, the Zoroastrian divine book, and the Qurn contradicted each other. If the message in those books was from the one and the same God, then there would not have been such inconsistency in the message. So his conclusion was that prophecy and divine revelations were superfluous and human reason was sufficient to distinguish between good and evil, true and false, and man could come to know God and organize his life by reason and

philosophic way of life. In his response to Razi, Abu Hatim sought to show, through tawil or hermeneutic interpretation, that man needs revealed guidance, and the diversity of religions is the Will of God. In order to grasp Abu Htims intention was to show through tawil that one can understand the unity of all religions by reflectively practicing the religious tradition in which one is born, and by studying different cultures and cultural symbols in which Divine revelation has ascended. This, in turn, can lead to a harmonious society whereby people can elevate themselves to the higher goal in life, which is the service to God and His creatures. Ibrahim Pourhadi, Public and Private Libraries in the Islamic World In this paper, I shall discuss the development of public and private libraries in the Muslim world in general and in Iran in particular, and demonstrate their impact on the concept and the process of learning in that part of the world from the pre-Islamic period until the present century. Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasrs role in and contribution to the development of academic libraries in Iran during his tenure at different universities in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s will be dealt with in the conclusion to demonstrate change and or continuity in the nature of the development of libraries in Persian-speaking parts of the Muslim world. Abdallah Schleifer, Traditional Islam in the Modern World: The Problematic Ironies of Islamization This paper considers Islamization not only as an inescapable reaction to external pressures which are manifest in the modern global culture that increasingly and significantly incorporates the umma within its structures and institutions but also as manifestations of global modern culture absorbed and at work in an emerging neoIslamic consciousness. Applying a Modern/Contemporary Differential adopted from the writings of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (specifically from Traditional Islam in the Modern World), the paper notes the grave implications of this situation and the paradox posed to an Islamization that by failing to take note of this fundamental difference, risks aggravating and often promoting the very problem it theoretically seeks to solve. Jane Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the Muslim-Christian Encounter Over the course of his long professional career Seyyed Hossein Nasr has been one of the most visible partners in formal and informal interaction and dialogue among members of the Muslim and Christian communities. His training in Christian theology and philosophy, combined with his remarkable depth of knowledge of the range of Islamic sciences, has made him uniquely positioned for this important work. This essay will treat some of the many substantial contributions Professor Nasr has made to this interfaith engagement, focusing on three areas: (a) better mutual understanding and appreciation of the basic worldviews of the two faiths; (b) identification of the most important theological issues that need to be addressed in Muslim-Christian dialogue; and (c) pursuit of a common acknowledgement of the reality of the sacred as a grounding principle of the both Islam and Christianity.

Mary E. Tucker, The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology While religions have been late in becoming involved in issues regarding the deteriorating state of the global environment, there are signs that religions are awakening to this serious problem. The resources of the world's religions may be essential in the emerging interdisciplinary discussions seeking solutions to the environmental crisis. Indeed, the United Nations Environment Programme has recognized this and in June sponsored the Tehran Seminar on Religion, Culture and the Environment in conjunction with the Iranian government. Clearly the spiritual, symbolic, scriptural, and ethical resources of the world's religions need to be identified as traditions find new expression in relation to current problems. The Harvard conferences and book series on World Religions and Ecology have contributed to this emerging field of study building on the significant contributions that Professor Nasr has made in this area for some four decades.

John Voll, Understanding Sufism: Nasr's Contribution Beyond Orientalism and Area Studies In the 1960s, the scholarly study of Sufism was in a state of major transition. The old Orientalist tradition continued to dominate the field in terms of approaches and texts. The Orientalist approach provided an important foundation for study in terms of development of texts, editions, and translations, but it tended to be based on the assumptions of the positivist rationalism of the Western disciplines in the social sciences and especially in the humanities. By the 1960s, Orientalism was being replaced or superceded by the more social science based area/regional studies perspectives. In the United States, this transition can be seen in the "conversion" of some of the major Orientalists, like Gibb and von Grunebaum, to the new regional studies approach. Area studies tended to ignore the study of Sufism, since mystical religious experience was not seen as having direct policy relevance. What was missing in both of these perspectives was a sense of Sufism as a living and dynamic experience of humans. It is in this context that Seyyed Hossein Nasr began to make his life-long contribution to shaping the scholarly awareness of Sufism in ways that did not lose the vitality of the faith experience. He has been able to combine the valuable contributions of the classical Orientalists and the area studies scholars with a profound awareness of the importance of faith commitment and cosmic experience. In this paper, this will be concretely shown through an analysis of Ideals and Realities of Islam, Three Muslim Sages, and essays like those contained in Sufi Essays. Nasr's approach and scholarship provide a key for how contemporary scholarship can (and sometimes does) go beyond Orientalism and area studies. Gisela Webb, Themes of Wisdom in Dialogue: Pedagogical Possibilities of Metaphysics in Undergraduate Teaching One question I deal with as a religious studies teacher of undergraduates in the increasingly global (inter-cultural and inter-religious) university is How do I teach issues of traditional Islamic metaphysics in a manner that is understandable, critical, and relevant? This paper will deal with pedagogical possibilities in angel narratives and wisdom traditions of Islam that serve to illuminate issues both historical and existential.

Hossein Ziai, Dialogue and Suhrawardi's Philosophical Allegories Suhrawardi's philosophical allegories, written in Persian, have seldom been analyzed from the purely philosophical perspective. In this paper, I propose to examine the structure and philosophical themes of a number of his allegorical treatises. I will attempt to show a distinctly Platonic "attitude" in the allegories, and will probe their Peripatetic dimension (if any).

SPEAKERS Ejaz Akram is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Catholic University of America. In addition to numerous articles and book reviews published in scholarly journals, Mr. Akram is affiliated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought and the managing-editor of the Journal of Muslim Social Scientists to which he contributes regularly. Mehdi Aminrazavi was educated at Temple University and the University of Washington and is currently associate professor of philosophy and religion at the Mary-Washington College. His main area of interest includes non-Western philosophical and religious traditions, especially the school of Illumination and its founder Shaykh Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi. Dr. Aminrazavi is the author of numerous articles and Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination (1997). He co-edited The Complete Bibliography of the Works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (with Zailan Moris) and the multi-volume Anthology of Persian Philosophy (with Seyyed Hossein Nasr). He is also the editor of The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia by S. H. Nasr. Nasir Assar graduated from the faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Tehran and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1945. Between 1949-1964, he served as a career diplomat at Irans embassies in Germany, Turkey, and the United Nations. After serving a year as the Director-General of the Prime Ministers Office, Mr. Assar was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Director of the Office of Pious Endowments (Sazman-i Awqaf). Between 1972-1975, Mr. Assar served as Irans Ambassador to Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) where he also served as the Secretary-General of that organization. Before the 1979 revolution he was Undersecretary for Political and Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lecturer University of Tehran where he taught collective security and regional defense pacts. Osman Bakar, a leading figure of Malaysian intellectual scene, is associate professor of philosophy of science at The University of Malaysia and specialist in Islamic thought and the Malay intellectual tradition. He is the author of Classification of Knowledge in Islam, Science and Tawhid, al-Farabi: Life, Work, and Significance, and Critique of Evolutionary Theory (ed.), and numerous articles on Islamic

philosophy of science and Sufism. Currently he is a visiting professor at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. Laleh Bakhtiar studied history, law, Islamic philosophy, and mysticism, counseling, and educational psychology. She is a certified national counselor, and author of several books including Sufi Expression of the Mystic Quest, Gods Will be Done, The Sense of Unity: The Sufi Tradition in Persian Architecture (together with Nader Ardalan). Currently, she is the president of the Institute of Traditional Psychology and Guidance, and the editor of the Kazi publications in Chicago. David Burrell, currently Theodore M. Hesburgh C.S.C. Professor in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame, was born in Akron, Ohio (in 1933). After completing high school in Akron at St. Vincent's, he went to Notre Dame in 1950, enrolling in a new program modeled after St. John's (Annapolis) and the "Great Books" program at the college of the University of Chicago. He studied with Bernard Lonergan in Rome. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale University in 1965. Prof. Burrell is a major figure in the comparative study of Islamic and Thomistic philosophy and the author of numerous books and articles including Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions, Knowing the Unknowable God: Ibn Sina, Maimonides, Aquinas, Aquinas: God and Action, Exercises in Religious Understanding, and Analogy and Philosophical Language. David Cain, Former President of the Soren Kierkegaard Society, is Distinguished Professor of Religion at Mary Washington College and Chairman in the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion. Dr. Cain has won many awards and honors including the Colleges Grellet C. Simpson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He is a theologian, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and a Kierkegaard scholar. He the is author and photographer of An Evocation of Kierkegaard / En Fremkaldelse of Kierkegaard (in English and Danish). William Chittick, a world-known authority on Ibn al-Arabi and his school, is professor of Comparative Studies at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. He spent over twelve years in Iran where he studied Islamic philosophy and Sufism. Dr. Chittick has published extensively in the field of Islamic intellectual tradition and is the author, among others, of The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-Arabis Metaphysics of Imagination, The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-Arabis Cosmology, Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity, The Vision of Islam (with Sachiko Murata), and A Short Introduction to Sufism. Emma Clark is a lecturer and tutor in the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts Department at the Prince's Foundation in London. She specializes in teaching the principles of sacred and traditional art, based primarily upon the writings of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Burckhardt, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon, and Martin

Lings. In addition to several articles on Islamic and traditional arts and two children's books on Muslim heroes, she has published a book on Islamic Garden. Recently she has embarked on garden design, specializing in gardens based on Islamic principles. She also acts as a consultant to Christie's on European, Islamic and Oriental costume and textiles. Keith Critchlow is a world-renowned lecturer, teacher and practitioner of sacred geometry. He is also a practicing architect and the author of several books on sacred geometry, proportion and related subjects. He founded the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts Department (known as VITA) at the Royal College of Art in London in 1983, which is now flourishing under the wing of The Prince of Wales' Foundation. VITA specializes in the teaching of the practice of the traditional arts, particularly the universal language of geometry, which underpins the sacred art of all the great world traditions. Professor Critchlow has unlocked the doors of sacred and traditional art for so many students, colleagues and many others who turn to him for inspiration and with tremendous gratitude. Caner Dagli completed his Masters in Religion at George Washington University. Currently he is a doctoral candidate in the Near Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University. His main areas of interest are Islamic philosophy and Sufi metaphysics. Waleed El-Ansary is a Ph.D. candidate in the Human Sciences Program at George Washington University where he specializes in Islamic economics. He has taught classes on Islamic economics and related subjects. His publications include "Recovering the Islamic Economic Intellectual Heritage: Problems and Possibilities," and "Linking Ethics and Economics: the Role of Ijtihad in the Regulation and Correction of Capital Markets. Amira el-Zein is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic at Georgetown University where she teaches Arabic Literature, Francophone literature, and Sufism. She is a well-known poet with two anthologies of poetry in Arabic and coeditor of the quarterly journal Jusoor. Professor el-Zein has published many articles in Arabic, French and English on Arabic literature, Comparative Literature, Sufism, and comparative Religion, and has translated into Arabic works by French authors such as Genet, Malraux, and Artaud. She has two forthcoming books: The Seen and the Unseen: Jinn Among Humans and Sufi Discussions: Dialogues with Seyyed Hossein Nasr. John L. Esposito received his Ph.D. from Temple University and taught at the College of the Holy Cross at Worcester, Massachusetts. He is University Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Dr. Esposito is an internationally known authority on Islam and the modern Middle East and has published and edited many books and articles including Islam: The Straight Path, Islam and Democracy (with John Voll), Islam and Politics, Islam in Asia, Political Islam: Radicalism, Revolution, or Reform, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (ed.), and The Oxford History of Islam (ed.).

Muhammad H. Faghfoory, formerly professor of history at the University of Tehran, has been a visiting scholar at the University of California-Los Angeles, Islamic Manuscripts Specialist at Princeton University, and at the Library of Congress. Currently he is a lecturer at the George Washington University and research fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London where he is conducting research on Shii and Sufi commentaries on the Quran. He has published numerous essays and book reviews, translated several books, and has contributed chapters to such publications as the Encyclopedia of Modern Middle East, the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, and An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia. His translation of the Kernel of the Kernel (on Sufism) by Allamah Sayyid Mohammad Husayn Tabatabai is in press at the State University of New York Press. Peter Felsenthal and Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr met as undergraduate students in their freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Felsenthal is a physicist, electrical and mechanical engineer, and a published poet. He was a pioneer in the use of computers in health care, and contributed immensely by his work and his original research for the scientific expeditions to the moon. For over thirty years, he has headed a manufacturing firm. Since his undergraduate years, Dr. Felsenthal has written and published poetry and given poetry readings. Ali Gheissari was educated at the University of Tehran in Law and Political Science and Essex University and the Oriental Institute at Oxford University in sociology. Dr. Gheissari has taught in Tehran and Oxford. He has been a member of the Governing Council of California Sociological Association, a member of the Nomination Committee of Society for Iranian Studies, and the Book Review Editor of IranNameh. In addition to numerous articles in Persian and English, his publications include a Persian translation with Hamid Enayat of Immanuel Kants Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Ethics and Iranian Intellectuals in the 20th Century. He is currently associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of San Diego in California. Alan Godlas received his Bachelor of Science degree in Ecological Psychology from the University of California at Davis in 1972. He continued his education at Tehran University, the American University in Cairo, Bosphorus University in Istanbul, and the University of California-Berkeley where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1991. He wrote his dissertation on the 'Arais al-bayan, the mystical Qur'anic commentary of Ruzbihan Baqli Shirazi, the translation and critical edition of which he is currently continuing. In addition, he is working on the life and teachings of the 18th century Afghan Sufi, Sufi Islam of Harat, as well as continuing to update his award winning website, "Islamic Studies, Islam, Arabic, and Religion." He is an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Religion at the University of Georgia. Azizah Y. al-Hibri studied philosophy and law at the American University of Beirut and the University of Pennsylvania. A former professor of philosophy, currently she is

professor of law at the T. C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond. She is the author of many books and articles including Islamic Jurisprudence and Critical Race Feminism (forthcoming), and Islamic Law and Muslim Women in America in One Nation Under God(1999). Dr. al-Hibri is thefounding editor of Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, and founder and director of Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. She is also a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Law and Religion, the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Contributing Editor of Second Opinion (The Park Ridge Center), and member of the Board of Advisors, The Religion and Human Rights Series (Emory University). Ramin Jahanbegloo studied in France where he earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy, History and Political Science, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Sorbonne in Paris. In 1993 he taught at the Academy of Philosophy in Tehran. Dr. Jahanbegloo was a researcher at the French Institute for Iranian Studies in Tehran (1994-1996), visiting scholar at the University of Toronto (1997-1998), Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University (1998-1999), and Adjunct Professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Toronto from (1999 to 2001). Currently he is a Senior Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. His writings include Conversation with Isaiah Berlin, Entretiens avec George Steiner (in French), Gandhi: Aux Sources de la Nonviolence (in French), Penser la Nonviolence (in French), and Iran: Between Tradition and Modernity (forthcoming). He is preparing a series of interviews with Seyyed Hossein Nasr, which will be published in English. Ibrahim Kalin is a Ph. D. candidate at the George Washington University and specializes in Islamic philosophy. He has published articles and book reviews on Islamic philosophy and science in the Islamic world. He is co-editor, with Muzaffar Iqbal, of the web based Resources on Islam and Science Project (www.cis-ca.org). Currently he is completing his dissertation on Mulla Sadras concept of the intellect. Patrick Laude is Associate Professor of French at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books and numerous essays dealing with poetry and mysticism including a study on Louis Massignon in French. He has translated Nasr's Knowledge and the Sacred into French, and is currently preparing two major volumes on Frithjof Schuon. Oliver Leaman was educated at Oxford and Cambridge and has taught at Liverpool John Moores University and University of Khartoum. His main interests include medieval Islamic philosophy, Islamic spirituality, and Jewish philosophy. His publications include An Introduction to Medieval Islamic Philosophy, Averroes and his Philosophy, and History of Islamic Philosophy (edited with Seyyed Hossein Nasr). Currently he teaches Islamic and Jewish philosophy at the University of Kentucky, Louisville. Luce Lopez-Baralt is a world -known scholar in the field of comparative literature and an expert on Sufi texts in relation to Spanish mystical literature. She is an authority on Spanish mystical literature as well as Persian and Arabic Sufi poetry. She has published extensively in Spanish and English. Among her works are Spanish

Mysticisms Debt to Sufism: Mystical Imagery of St. Teresa of Avila, Introductory Study to the Spanish Translation of Abul Hasan Nuris Maqamat al qulub, Asedios a lo Indecible: San Juan de la Cruz canta al extasis transformante, Poems of the Way: Poetry of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1999) and many other works. Currently she is professor of religion and comparative literature at Universidad de Puerto Rico. Muhiaddin Mesbahi is Professor of International Relations at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, Florida, and was Senior Visiting Scholar at Oxford University in 1999-2000. He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies of the University of Miami (1988) and conducted post-doctoral research at Oxford University in 1992. In addition to numerous articles published in Central Asian Survey, Middle East Journal and Middle East Insight, Dr. Mesbahi is the author of Russia and the Third World in the Post-Soviet Era, Central Asia and the Caucasus after the Soviet Union. He is a member of the editorial board of Central Asian Survey (London), Journal of Political Ideologies (Oxford), and The Iranian Journal of International Affairs. He has been a speaker in major international conferences in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Canada, and France, and has been interviewed by BBC, Voice of America and several European national radio stations pertaining to the Middle East, Iran and Central Asia. Sachiko Murata is professor of Religious Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She spent many years in Iran before the revolution where she studied theology and Persian literature. She is the author of The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought and Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light. Sanford Nemitzs friendship with Professor Nasr goes back to 1946 when they were both in the Class of 1950 at the Peddie School. After graduation, Dr. Nemitz went to Princeton, then the U.S. Army, IBM and finally chose a career as a venture capitalist working in Europe, the Caribbean, Central America as well as the United States. He has served four presidents as a representative on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and founded the Presidential Scholars Foundation. In addition, he serves on the Northeast Region Board of the Boy Scouts of America, and directs the organization of Humanities Centers for High School Students. He is a Class Officer for his Princeton Class and serves as Schools Committee Chairman for Bucks County PA for the University. He is also a member of a number of corporate boards of directors. Latimah-Parvin Peerwani studied at the American University of Beirut and Tehran University. She was associate professor of Islamic Thought and Persian Studies at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. She has published widely in the area of Ismaili and Shiite philosophical thought, and is now preparing the annotated

translation of some volumes of al-Asfar al-Arbaah of the seventeenth century Iranian philosopher Sadr al-Din Shirazi. She teaches at Fort Worth, Texas. Ibrahim Pourhadi was educated in Iran and the American University of Beirut and has been an analyst and the Head of Iran Section at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. since the early 1950s where he has been developing the Persian collection. In addition to numerous articles in scholarly journals and chapters to many books, Mr. Pourhadi has compiled several bibliographies including the Persian and Afghan Newspapers in the Library of Congress: 1871-1978. Farhang Rajaee is an Associate Professor political science at Carleton University. Between 1986 and 1996 he taught at the University of Tehran, the Iranian Academy of Philosophy, and Beheshti (National) University. In 1990-91, he was a fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford, and in 1996 a research fellow at Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, where he conducted research on Globalization and the Islamic World. In addition to many articles, Dr. Rajaee has published in Persian The Battle of Worldviews (Ma'rekeye Jahanbiniha) The Development of Political Ideas in the Ancient East (Tahavol Andisheye Siyasi dar Sharqe Bastan ), and Globalization on Trial. Abdallah Schleifer is an American scholar who has lived and taught in the Islamic world for over thirty years. Currently he is the Distinguished Lecturer in Mass Communication and director of the Adham Center for Television Journalism at the American University in Cairo. He is the author of The Fall of Jerusalem and has published many articles on Jerusalem as well as on Islamic political thought, Islamic art and architecture, Sufism and the impact of mass media upon traditional consciousness. Mohsen Shirazi received his education in Iran and graduated in Petrochemical engineering from the Abadan Institute of Technology. He has been trained in various disciplines including management and economics. He has a wealth of over 40 years of experience in the international oil and gas industries, including 15 years at the World Bank as a senior specialist and consultant, working for over 20 countries with emerging markets, four years as Director of Frontier Projects for the Phillips Petroleum Company, as well as 23 years with the National Iranian Oil Company and the National Iranian Gas Company. In addition to a number of key positions in the oil industry that he held in Iran, Mr. Shirazi served as a Member of the Board, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company, Chairman of the Gas Committee of OPEC (1975-1977) as a member of the Council of the International Gas Union (1983-1987). Jane I. Smith is Professor of Islamic Studies and Co-Director of the Macdonald Center for Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary. She has done extensive work on Muslim communities in America, historical relations between Christians and

Muslims, Christian theology in relation to Islam, the role and status of women in Islam, and Islamic conceptions of death and afterlife. Dr. Smith is the co-editor of The Muslim World, area editor of Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures and editor of Islam section of The Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions. Among Dr. Smiths recent publications are Visible and Invisible: Muslim Communities in the West, Islam in America, Islam and Christendom in The Oxford History of Islam, Christian Missionary Views of Islam in the 19th-20th Centuries in Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations, and the co-edited volumes of Muslim Communities in North America and Mission to America: Five Islamic Sectarian Communities in the United States. Mary Evelyn Tucker is a professor of religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in the history of religions, specializing in Confucianism in Japan. Her publications include Moral and Spiritual Cultivation in Japanese Neo-Confucianism, and she is the co-editor of Worldviews and Ecology,Buddhism and Ecology,Confucianism and Ecology, and Hinduism and Ecology. She is currently coediting with Tu Weiming two volumes on Confucian Spirituality which will be published in 2002 by Crossroad in the series on World Spirituality. She and her husband, John Grim, have directed a series of ten conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions from 1996-1998. They are the series editors for the ten volumes which are being published from the conferences by the Center and Harvard University Press, and of a book series on Ecology and Justice from Orbis Press. In addition, they are now coordinating an ongoing Forum on Religion and Ecology (FORE). Mary Evelyn has been a committee member of the Interfaith Partnership for the Environment at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) since 1986 and is Vice President of the American Teilhard Association. She was a member of the Earth Charter Drafting Committee from 1997-2000. John O. Voll is Professor of Islamic History and Associate Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught Middle Eastern and world history for thirty years at the University of New Hampshire before coming to Georgetown University in 1995. He is a past president of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA). He has authored many articles and books including Islam: Continuity and Change in the Modern World and Islam and Democracy and Makers of Contemporary Islam (both co-authored with J. Esposito). Gisela Webb was a student of Professor Nasr at Temple University between 19801989 when she received her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies. Currently, she is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the University Honors Humanities Program at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She is the Director of the University Honors Program and Faculty Fellow in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Dr. Webb has published in the field of Islamic studies, women and spirituality, and womens issues. Her most recent book, Windows of Faith: Muslim

Women Scholar-Activist in North America, was published by the Syracuse University Press in 2000. Hossein Ziai is a leading scholar on Islamic philosophy and an authority on Shaykh Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi and the Illuminationst tradition. His publications include Knowledge and Illumination: A Study of Suhrawardis Hikmat al-Ishraq and numerous articles in Persian and English. Currently he is professor of Islamic philosophy and Director of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature at the University of California-Los Angeles.