The III International Colloquium “Islamic Mysticism in al-Andalus: Gnosis, Norm and Transgression” will be held online on July 2nd and 3rd, 2024 (link and program to be available).

Organized by the Institute of Medieval Studies (IEM / NOVA FCSH) and the Centro de Investigação Arqueología, História y Património del Mediterráneo Occidental of the University of Murcia (ARHIS / UMU), this is the third in a series of International Colloquiums focusing on Islamic Mysticism in al-Andalus, which have been held since 2022.

The first Colloquium, “Islamic Mysticism in al-Andalus: Texts and Contexts” (Lisbon, November 2022), focused on sources, authors, cultures, sociologies, and diachronic, and the second, “Islamic Mysticism in al-Andalus: Gnosis, Symbol and Metaphor” (Murcia, September 2023), addressed textual, connotative and symbolic structures of literary and artistic sources, and the respective symbolic vocabularies and idiosyncrasies associated with them, as instruments for gnosis.

These international colloquiums have seen substantial participation from researchers from countries in the Mediterranean orbit (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Algeria) and other geographical areas, such as Brazil. The diverse contributions have enriched our understanding, extending beyond Islamic mysticism to include comparative studies between Islamic and Jewish mysticism.

The III Colloquium will seek to move towards gnosis through the confrontation, harmonious or not, between the social norms of external and public discipline, on the one hand, and internal spiritual realities that obey other values ​​that, at certain moments, challenge and surpass, and subvert the norm.

Scientific Comission:

  • Amina González Costa (Univ. Murcia)
  • António Rei (IEM / NOVA FCSH)
  • Belén Cuenca Abellán (Univ. Pablo Olavide)
  • Francisco Franco-Sánchez (Univ. Alicante)
  • Karima Bouras (Univ. Murcia)
  • Luis Barnabé Pons (Univ. Alicante)
  • Mourad Kacimi (Univ. Valencia)
  • Natália Nunes (IELT e IEM / NOVA FCSH)
  • Pilar Garrido Clemente (Univ. Murcia e ARHIS)