Why This Text Matters | Introduction to Islamic Metaphysics | Yousef Casewit

Religious studies courses can feature a broad range and variety of texts, including anything from The Daodejing, to The Mishnah, to Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, to Mary Douglas’s Purity and Danger, to Said’s Orientalism. The Marty Center partnered with the Undergraduate Religious Studies Program to design “Why This Text Matters” as a series of videos to help faculty prepare for courses, their students, and anyone generally curious about important texts in the study of religion. In the space of about 30 minutes, viewers can gain a deeper understanding of the context, themes, and significance of texts taught by experts at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
About the Text:
In this lecture on the mystical teachings of the remarkable contemporary Moroccan Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkari, Professor Yousef Casewit offers a glimpse into the Shaykh’s fascinating life and his vast teachings in relation to the broader corpus of the Sufi tradition, and highlights some of the classics of the Shadhiliyyah Order that have been translated into English thanks to the efforts of various scholars including M. Fitzgerald, S. Kugle, K. Williams, F. Aresmouk, and the late M. Lings and V. Danner.