The Development of Renunciation and Classical Sufism in the Jibāl Region
This book examines the emergence and development of renunciation (zuhd) and classical Sufism in the Jibāl region of western Iran between the third/ninth and sixth/twelfth centuries. Drawing on a wide range of Arabic and Persian primary sources, including numerous unpublished manuscripts, it reconstructs the intellectual, social, and religious history of Sufi communities across major urban centers such as Rayy, Iṣfahān, Hamadān, Qazvīn, Abhar, and Nahāvand. The study explores the formation of regional Sufi networks, the transmission of religious knowledge, and the relationship between asceticism, Sufism, theology, and urban religious life in medieval Iran.
Forthcoming with Göttingen University Press.
Political Islam and the Making of Modern Capitalism
This long-term research project examines the relationship between religion, political Islam, and capitalism in the modern Middle East. Bringing together intellectual history, political theory, and historical sociology, it investigates how Islamic movements have shaped processes of political and economic transformation from the twentieth century to the present. Through comparative case studies, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, the project explores changing forms of religious authority, state formation, and economic life. Drawing on Weberian Marxism and theories of religion and capitalism, it develops a new analytical framework for understanding the transformation of political Islam in the modern Middle East.
Book project in progress.
Studia Guranīca: On the Literary, Linguistic, Religious, and Cultural Dimensions of Guranī
This edited volume brings together specialists in linguistics, literary studies, religious studies, codicology, and cultural history to advance the interdisciplinary study of the Guranī tradition. Particular attention is devoted to the religious and intellectual heritage preserved in Guranī, including Yārsān kalām, manuscript traditions, canonization, ritual practices, and the relationship between orality and literacy. By integrating the study of language, literature, religion, and manuscript culture, the volume seeks to establish Guranī as a major field within Kurdish and Iranian studies while highlighting the richness of its textual and religious traditions.
Co-edited with Behrooz Chamanara and Hamidreza Nikravesh. Forthcoming with Brill.