The Making of Saints in the Muslim World in 20th Century

                                             
Conference: The Making of Saints in the Muslim World in 20th Century
CNRS- Paris – 2-3 December 2011
(All are welcome, Main language of program is English)

Conveners:

Michel BOIVIN, Pedram KHOSRONEJAD, Pierre-Jean LUIZARD, Thierry ZARCONE

Groupe Societes, Religions, La?cit?s
GSRL – UMR 8582 – CNRS

Department of Social Anthropology,
University of St Andrews, Scotland

Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes – Sorbonne

Centre d’etudes sur l’Inde et l’Asie du Sud
CEIAS – UMR 8564 – CNRS ? EHESS

FRIDAY 2 DECEMBER

9:30 Opening
9:45 Introduction to the program

Session 1: Africa and the Middle East

Chair: Pedram Khosronejad

10:00 Cheikh ANTA BABOU (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
The making of a saint: an exploration of the foundations of Amadou Bamba’s religious authority

10: 40 Mark SEDGWICK (Aarhus University, Denmark)
The Making of a Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al- Alawi and the European Construction of Sufism

11:20 Morning Coffee

11:45 Paulo PINTO (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
The Metamorphosis of Baraka: Ritual, Sainthood and Charismatic Succession in Syrian Sufism

12:25 Questions and discussion
13:00 Lunch Break

Session 2: Shi’ite World and Turkey

Chair: Michel Boivin

15:00 Pedram KHOSRONEJAD (Department of Social Anthropology, University of St- Andrews – Scotland)
Immortal Spirits: Materiality and Immateriality of Iran-Iraq War Martyrs

15:40 Pierre-Jean LUIZARD (CNRS-GSRL/EPHE, Paris, France)
The two Sadr in Iraq : from political activism to sanctification or how martyrdom leads to sainthood

16:20 Afternoon Tea

16:45 Thierry ZARCONE (CNRS-GSRL/EPHE, Paris, France)
The Making of Saints in Republican Turkey: Sufi shaykhs versus Sufis

17:25 – 18:00 Questions and discussion
19:15 Dinner

SATURDAY 3 DECEMBER

Session 3: India Subcontinent and Central Asia

Chair: Pierre-Jean Luizard

10:00 Iqbal AKHTAR (University of Edinburgh, Scotland)
A modern reimaging of the medieval Khoja saint

10:40 Michel BOIVIN (CNRS/CEIAS, Paris, France)
The ‘hidden Sufi’ of India: building sainthood among the Hindu followers of Sufi pir-s

11:20 Morning Coffee

11:45 Alexandre PAPAS (CNRS-CETOBAC/EHESS, Paris, France)
Deconstructing saints: The anti-hagiographic literature in Xinjiang

12:25 Questions and discussion
13:00 Conclusion

Venue:
CNRS
59-61, Rue Pouchet, 75849 Paris
Salle de conference – RDC
Tel. : 33 (0)1 40 25 10 94
Plan d’acces
http://www.gsrl.cnrs.fr/sites/gsrl/IMG/pdf/Plan_d_acces_GSRL.pdf