Beyond Sharia - ERC Research Project

Welcome to the linkedin page of the ERC Advanced Project Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam. The research project 'Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam', led by Professor Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 101020403). The team behind this research group, consisting of both senior and junior researchers, examines the emergence, flourishing and lasting appeal of non-conformist movements in Islamic intellectual history from the tenth century to the present day, investigating how Islamic antinomian movements consolidated Islam in a vast region from the Balkans to Bengal, while offering methods of self-reflection that allowed for critical thinking within Islamic streams of thought. By examining how generations of Islamic mystics and intellectuals in the Persianate world challenged, redefined or rejected Islamic canonical law in their poetic, artistic, philosophical and political writings and teachings, this project generates significant new insights into transgression in Islam.