The book provides a general survey of the history of Islamic mysticism (Sufism) since its inception up to the modern time. It combines chronological and personality-based approaches to the subject with a thematic discussion of principal Sufi notions and institutions. Sufism is examined from a variety of different perspectives: as a vibrant social institution, a specific form of artistic expression (mainly poetic), an ascetic and contemplative practice, and a distinctive intellectual tradition that derived its vitality from a dialogue with other strands of Islamic thought. The book emphasizes the wide variety of Sufism's interactions with the society and its institutions from an ascetic withdrawal from the world to an active involvement in its affairs by individual Sufi masters and organizations. "Islamic Mysticism" by Knysh is a comprehensive survey of the interesting and fascinating world of Islamic Mysticism.
Alexander (Sasha) Knysh. I was trained as an Arabist and historian of the Islamic Middle East in the former Soviet Union (at the Lenigrad State University, then the Soviet Academy of Sciences). I combine expertise in Arabic literature (both pre-modern and modern) with the knowledge of the history, religions, and cultures of the Middle East and Eurasia. I have been teaching and conducting research in these fields of academic endeavor over the past thirty years. I came to the US from the former Soviet Union in 1991 on a fellowship of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. In 1992-1993, I was a Rockefeller fellow in the Humanties at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1994, I joined the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor. In 1998, I was promoted to the rank of Professor of Islamic Studies at the above university. From 1998 until 2004, I served as chair of the department. In 1997-1998, I held the Sharjah Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Arabic and Middle East Studies, University of Exeter, UK. Although this was a permanent academic appointment, I chose to return to Michigan after one year in England.
More recently, I have been working on several academic projects, including the history of Islam in Yemen and a study of the changing representations of Islam and the Muslims in Russian academic and popular discourses and mass media following the collapse of the former Soviet Union. My latest project, "Islam and Empire in the Northern Caucasus," explores the history and ideological underpinnings of Muslim resistance to the Russian conquest and subsequent domination of the Northern Caucasus in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Simultaneously, I continue to pursue my longstanding interest in the history of Sufi movements and thought in Islam. I currently serve as the section editor for "Sufism" on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd edition), E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands.
