Came across an incredible open access publication recently: the definitive edition and translation of Nahj al-Balagha, one of the most important texts in Islamic spiritual and theological tradition. One of its most famous passages is from Letter 53, on governance (p. 625):

brill.com/display/titl...

***new podcast alert!***

@bcheves.bsky.social interviews @annikaschmeding.bsky.social about her first book, Sufi Civilities: Religious Authority and Political Change in Afghanistan (@stanfordpress.bsky.social, 2023). Listen here: ajammc.com/2025/03/03/a...

Sonic Relations – Cultivating Ties with the Unseen through Sound in Muslim Devotional Life This talk highlights the affective, material, and political dimensions of Shiʿi sonic practices, revealing the profound significance of sound in devotional and communal life.

Looking forward to sharing research from my forthcoming book at the KCL Music Colloquium later this month. London friends very welcome!

I will also be participating in this week’s Cambridge Anthropology and Theology Network discussion with Lili Di Puppo. Thinking about what anthropologists can learn from Sufi epistemologies and ontologies. Online this Tuesday!

Please come along if you are in Oxford this Tuesday!