Anarchist, Artist, Sufi: The Politics, Painting, and Esotericism of Ivan Agueli

Description

This book follows the life of Ivan Agueli, the artist, anarchist, and esotericist, notable as one of the earliest Western intellectuals to convert to Islam and to explore Sufism. This book explores different aspects of his life and activities, revealing each facet of Agueli's complex personality in its own right. It then shows how esotericism, art, and anarchism finally found their fulfillment in Sufi Islam. The authors analyze how Agueli's life and conversion show that Islam occupied a more central place in modern European intellectual history than is generally realized. His life reflects several major modern intellectual, political, and cultural trends. This book is an important contribution to understanding how he came to Islam, the values and influences that informed his life, and-ultimately-the role he played in the modern Western reception of Islam.

Mark Sedgwick is Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at Aarhus University, Denmark.

A magnificent book. * Bitter Winter * Anarchist, animal rights activist, artist, and Sufi mystic, Ivan Agueli travelled the world in his quest for knowledge. Anarchist, Artist, Sufi brings the life of this remarkable visionary to light in a multifaceted study that is stimulating, insightful, and path-breaking. * Allan Antliff, Professor of Art History and Visual Studies, University of Victoria, Canada, and author of Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics, and the First American Avant-Garde (2001). * A biographical study of how the teachings of medieval Muslim mystics found new meaning in the artistic underground of Belle Epoque Paris, this fascinating volume explores the cross-cultural encounter between one society's traditions and another's avant-garde. * Nile Green, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Sufism: A Global History (2012). *