The University of Chicago . . . . . 1978-1982 . . . .Ph.D. 1982
Center for Arabic Studies Abroad, Cairo, Egypt. . . 1977-1978
The University of Chicago . . . . . 1976-1977 . . . . M.A. 1977
Gonzaga University. . . . . . . . . . 1967-1971 . . . . A.B. 1971 (Florence Italy Program, 69-70)

POSITIONS HELD

• 5/95-- -- -- Haverford College, Professor of Religion
  and Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professor of Comparative Religions.
• (7/97-7/98 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, in residence)
• 7/92--6/96 Haverford College, Chairperson, Dept. of Religion.
• 5/90--5/95 Haverford College, Associate Professor, Department of Religion.
• 8/84 --5/90 Haverford College, Assistant Professor, Department of Religion
• 8/82-- 8/84 Stanford University, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow.
• 8/72--6/74 Peace Corps, Tunisia. Lycée de Medenine. Lycée de Foum Tatahouine.

HONORS

• 2004 Choice "Academic Book of the Year" Award for The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy (Columbia University Press, 2004).
• 2003 Andrew Mellon New Directions Fellowship: for Work on Religion and Conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
• 2002 Annual Selection of Approaching the Qur'an for the Required Book of the Year, University of North Carolina Summer Reading Program.
• 2002 Paul Hanly Furfey Lectureship, Association for the Sociology of Religion.
• 1999 Fulbright Fellowship to Morroco, Tunisia, and Syria. Project: Ibn `Arabi's classical heritage and contemporary influence. Spring, 2000, seven month award.
• 1997 American Academy of Religion Annual Book Prize for Excellence in Historical Studies, to The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, Presentation Ceremony, November 21, 1997, San Francisco, American Academy of Religion Anuual Conference.
• 1996 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for 1997-1998. Project Title: The Poetics of the Classical Arabic Qasida (Ode).
• 1995 American Academy of Religion Prize for First Book in the History of Religions (Honorable Mention): Mystical Languages of Unsaying (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1994)
• 1994 Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professorship in Comparative Religions, Haverford College
• 1993 NEH (National Endowment of the Humanities) Fellowship: Studies in the Classical Arabic Qasida
• 1992 Lifetime Honorary Fellow: the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society
• 1990 Nominated for the Lewis Galatière Prize from the American Literary Translators Association (for Desert Tracings)
• 1990 Nominated for the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the American Academy of Poets (for Desert Tracings)
• 1987 -- Emily Judson Baugh Gest and John Marshall Gest Lectureship in Comparative Religions.
• 1985 Arabic League Translation Award, Translation Center, Columbia University.
• 1985 NEH Summer Grant, Arabic Ode Translation Project.
• 1982 - 1984 Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship, Stanford University.
• 1982 Honors (the highest designation), PhD Disseration Defense, University of Chicago
• 1982 Arabic Translation Prize, American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA).
• 1981 Arabic Translation Prize, American Association of Teachers of Arabic.
• 1981 - 1982 Whiting Fellowship, The University of Chicago.
• 1979 - 80/1978 - 79 NDEA Title VI Fellowship, Arabic.
• 1977 - 1978 CASA Fellowship (Center for Arabic Studies Abroad).
• 1977 Honors (the highest designation) MA exams, University of Chicago.
• 1971 Magna cum Laude, B.A. degree, Gonzaga University.
  

PUBLICATIONS, BOOKS

Stations of Desire: Love Odes of Ibn `Arabi and New Poems. Original poems by Michael Sells and translations of love qasidas from Ibn `Arabi's Interpreter of Desires (Turjuman al-Ashwaq). Jerusalem: Ibis Press, 2000. Fourth Printing, 2003.

The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy. Co-edited with Emran Qureshi. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. Introduction by Michael Sells and Emran Qureshi. Essays by Fatema Mernissi, Edward Said, Roy Mottahedeh, John Trumpbour, Rob Nixon, Mujeeb Khan, Maria Rosa Menocal, Neil MacMaster, Norman Cigar, and Michael Sells. A Choice "Academic Book of the Year" for 2004.

Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations. White Cloud Press, 1999. Second Edition, 2001. Renderings of the hymnic suras, with an introduction, a facing commentary on each Sura, essays on sound and meaning in Qur'anic language, sound charts for use with Qur'anic recitation, and an annotated glossary and a CD with examples of Qur'anic recitation. Seventh, Printing 2003.

Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Al-Andalus. Co-edited with Maria Rosa Menocal and Raymond Scheindlin, and contributor. The volume includes 24 essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia. University of California Press, 1996. An examination of the use of religious mythology to motivate and justify genocide against Bosnian Muslims from 1992-1995. 1997 American Academy Religion Award for Excellence in Historical Studies. Second Edition with a Preface on Kosovo and BiH. University of California Press, 1998. Bosnian edition: Iznevjereni most: religia i genocid u Bosni, translated by Zoran Mutic,(Sarajevo: Sedam, 2002).

Early Islamic Mysticism. Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality Series, 1996. Introductions and translations of the Qur'an, Mi`raj Accounts, Arabic Poetry, Tustari, Ja`far as-Sadiq, Muhasibi, Junayd, Hallaj, Rabi`a, Bistami, Sarraj, Qushayri, and Niffari, with an Introduction to Islamic mysticism. 3rd Printing 2003.

Mystical Languages of Unsaying. University of Chicago Press, 1994. A philosophical and literary study of apophatic language in Plotinus, Eriugena, Ibn `Arabi, Eckhart, and Marguerite Porete. With original translations from the Greek, Arabic, Latin, medieval French, and medieval German. 1995 American Academy of Religion First Book Prize (honorable mention).

Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes. Wesleyan University Press, 1989. Second Printing, 1996. Original Translations, and Critical Commentary on early Arabic odes by `Alqama, Shanfara, Labid, `Antara, Al-A`sha and Dhu al-Rumma, with a General Introduction. Major selections appear in the Harper-Collins World Reader and The Norton Anthology of World Poetry.

BOOK SECTIONS

"Bewildered Tongue: The Semantics of Mystical Union in Islam" and "Response," in Bernard McGinn and Moshe Idel, ed., Mystical Union and Monotheistic Religions: an Ecumenical Dialogue, New York: MacMillan, 1989. This volume includes studies by McGinn (Christian Mysticism), Idel (Jewish Mysticism), Sells (Islamic Mysticism), and D. Merkur (Psychological Approaches), with a response by each to the other essays. Second Edition, Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (New York: Continuum, 1996).

• "Crosses of Blood: Sacred Space, Religion, and Violence in Bosnia-Hercegovina," The annual Paul Hanly Furfey Lecture, Association for the Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Religion 64:3 (2003): 309-331.
• "Sacral Ruins in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mapping Ethnoreligious Nationalism," in Craig R. Prentiss, Religiion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity (New York: New York University Press, 2003): 211-233.
• The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, co-edited with Emran Qureshi (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003).
• "Christ-Killer, Kremlin, Contagion," in Emran Qureshi and Michael Sells, eds., The New Crusades: 352-389.
• "Introduction: The Clash of Civilizations and Constructing the Muslim Enemy," co-authored with Emran Qureshi in Qureshi and Sells, eds., The New Crusades: 1-47.
• "Ibn al-`Arabi and the Clash of Civilizations," Rabat, Morocco, 2003 (in press).

• Iznevjereni most, translated by Zoran Mutic (Sarajevo: Sedam, 2002), translation of The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia.
• "The Infinity of Desire: Love, Mystical Union, and Ethics in Sufism," in William Barnard and Jeffrey Kripal, eds., Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism (New York: Seven Bridges, 2002): 184-229.
• "Islam in Serbian Religious Mythology and Its Consequences," in Maya Shatzmiller, ed., Islam and Bosnia (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002): 56-85.
• "Irremediable Ecstasy, Modes of the Lyric in Etel Adnan's The Spring Flowers Own & Manifestations of the Voyage," in Etel Adnan: Critical Essays on the Arab-American Writer and Artist, edited by Lisa Suhayr Majaj and Amal Amireh (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2002): 50-66.
• "The Wedding of Zein: Islam through the Modern Novel," in Brannon Wheeler, editor, Teaching Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002): 145-167.
• "Ibn `Arabi and the Clash of Civilizations," Journal of the Univeristy of Riyadh Muhammad V, forthcoming.

• "Serbian Religious Mythology and the Genocide in Bosnia" in In God's Name: Genocide and Religion in the 20th Century, edited by Omer Bartov and Phyllis Mack (Berghahn Books, 2001), 180-205. 
• "The 'Work' of Love: Marguerite Porete, Nizam, and Ibn `Arabi" (Tres seguidores de la religion de l'amor: Nizam, Ibn `Arabi, y Marguerite Porete), translated into Spanish by Ana Iribas Rubin in Pablo Beneito, ed. Mujeres de Luz: Proceedings of the Congreso Internacional Sobre Mistica Femenina, Avila 29-31 Octubre, 1999 (Avila: Centro Internacional de Estudios Misticos, 2001): 137-157.
• Preface, Emil Homerin, editor and translator, `Umar Ibn al-Farid: Sufi Verse, Saintly Life (New York: Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality, 2001), pp. xi-svii.
• Michael A. Sells, Preface, Alexandre Kimenyi and Otis Scott, Anatomy of Genocide (Edwin Mellen, 2001).
• "Sound, Spirit, and Gender in Surat al-Qadr," anthologized in Andrew Rippin, ed., The Qur'an: Style and Contents (Variorum, Aldershot UK, 2001): 332-353.

• "Meister Eckhart and Ibn `Arabi on the Mysticism of Perpetual Transformation," Eckhart Review 8 (Spring 2000):3-18.
• "A Literary Approach to the Hymnic Suras of the Qur'an: Spirit, Gender, and Aural Intertextuality" in Issa Boullata, ed., Literary Structures of Religions Meaning in the Qur'an (London: Curzon Press, 2000), pp. 3-25.
• "Vuk's Knife: Kosovo, the Serbian Golgotha, and the Radicalization of Serbian Society," William J. Buckley, ed., Kosovo: Contending Voices on Balkan Interventions (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), pp.133-141.
• The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Al-Andalus. Co-editor, with Maria Rosa Menocal and Raymond Scheindlin, and contributor. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
• "To al-Andalus Would She Return the Greeting: Ibn Zaydun's Nuniyya (Poem in N), Complete Translation," in the The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: The Literature of Al-Andalus, ed. Maria Rosa Menocal, Raymond P. Scheindlin, and Michael Sells, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 489-496.
• "Love," an essay on love poetry in Islamic Andalus, The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: The Literature of Al-Andalus, ed. Maria Rosa Menocal, Raymond P. Scheindlin, and Michael Sells (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp.126-158.

• Stations of Desire: Love Elegies from Ibn `Arabi and New Poems (Jerusalem: Ibis Editions, 1999, 3rd printing 2002).
• Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations (Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press, 1999; fifth printing 2002).
• "Balkan Islam and the Mythology of Kosovo," ISIM (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World) Newsletter, no. 3, 1999
•  "The Wiles of Women and Performative Intertextuality: `A'isha, the Hadith of the Slander and the Sura of Yusuf," Journal of Arabic Literature 30.1 (Spring, 1999): 1-23. Co-Authored with Ashley Manjarrez Walker. R
• Approaching the Qur'an: The New Revelations, selections, translations, and commentaries by Michael Sells (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 1999, new printing 2000)
• "Sufism Toward the Year 1240 CE," in Mortimer Ostow, editor, Jewish Mystical Leadership in the Thirteenth Century (Jason Aronson Press, 1999).

• "Preface on Kosovo and BiH from 1995-1998," for the new, paperback edition of Michael Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, Religion and Genocide in Bosnia (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998).
• "Serbian Religious Nationalism, Christoslavism, and the Genocide in Bosnia, 1992-1995," in Paul Mojzes, editor, The Role of Religion in the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, (Atlanta: Scholar's Press, 1998): 196-207.
• Four Poems Translated from Ibn `Arabi's Tarjuman al-Ashwaq (Translation of Desires), Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society 23 (1998): 53-57.
• "Heart-Secret, Intimacy, and Awe in Formative Sufism," The Shaping of An American islamic Discourse: A Memorial to Fazlur Rahman, ed. by Earle Waugh and Frederick Denny (Atlanta: Scholars Press, Studies on Religion and the Social Order, 1998): 165-188.

• "Longing, Belonging, and Pilgrimage in the Poetry of Ibn `Arabi," Ross Brann, editor, Languages of Power in Islamic Andalus CDL Press: Occasional publications of the Department of Near Eastern Studies and the Program of Jewish Studies, Cornell University, 1997: 178-96.
• "'Christ Killer' Mythology and the Tragedy in the Balkans," in Explorations: Rethinking Relationships Among Protestants, Christians and Jews 11.3 (1997):5.

•  The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia (Berkeley: The Univ. of California Press, 1996, 2nd edition, 1998).
• "Toward a Multidimensional Understanding of Islam: The Poetic Key," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 64.1 (1996): 145-66.
• Early Islamic Mysticism (New York: Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality, 1996).
• "Religion, History, and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina," in Religion and Justice in the War over Bosnia, edited by G. Scott Davis (New York: Routledge, 1996): 22-43.
• "The Mu`allaqat," Harper-Collins Great Literature of the Eastern World, Edited by Ian McGreal (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), pp. 457-61.
• "Early Islamic Mysticism,"The Muslim Almanac, ed. by Azim Nanji (Detroit: Gale Research, 1996), pp. 215-21.
• "Bewildered Tongue: The Semantics of Mystical Union in Islam" and "Response," in Bernard McGinn and Moshe Idel, ed., Mystical Union and Monotheistic Religions: an Ecumenical Dialogue, New York: MacMillan, 1989.

•  "At the Way Stations, Stay," Translation and Commentary on a Poem from Ibn `Arabi's "Interpreter of Desires," Journal of the Muhyiddin ibn `Arabi Society 18 (1995): 57-65.
• "Lacan and Bion: Psychoanalysis and the Mystical Language of Unsaying,"Theory and Psychology 5.2 (1995): 195-215. With Richard Webb. Reprinted in the Journal of Melanie Klein and Object Relations 15:2 (1997), W.R. Bion Centennial Issue (1897-1997): 243-64
• "Ibn al-`Arabi, Rabi`a al-Adawiyya, Al-Qushayri, Shahrastani," Harper-Collins Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, edited Ian McGreal (New York: HarperCollins, 1995): 435-38, 453-56, 461-64, 475-479.

•  "The Pseudo-Woman and the Meister: 'Unsaying' and Essentialism," in Bernard McGinn, editor, Meister Eckhart and the Beguine Mystics (New York: Crossroad, 1994), pp. 114- 46.
• Mystical Languages of Unsaying (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994).
• "Mysticism and Emanation in the Writings of Meister Eckhart,"Listening 29.3 (1994) 174-85.
• "Like the Arms of a Drowning Man: Simile and Symbol Worlds in the Naqa Sections of Bashama's Hajarta Umama," W. Heinrichs and G. Schoeler, eds., A Festschrift in Honor of Professor Ewald Wagner, Beiruter Studien (Beirut/Istanbul 1994) 2: 18-41.
• "Guises of the Ghul: Dissembling Simile and Semantic Overflow in the Early Arabic Nasib," in S. Stetkevych, editor, Reorientations, Studies in Arabic and Persian Poetry (Indiana University Press, 1994): 130-164.
• "Bosnia: Some Religious Dimensions of Genocide," Religious Studies News 9.2 (May 1994): 4-5. Reprinted in Common Era: Best Religion Writings of 1994, edited by Stephen Scholl (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 1995), 114-26.

•  "Along the Edge of Mirage: Translation and Interpretation of al-Mukhabbal as-Sa'di 's Mufaddaliya, Dhakarta Rababa," in M. Mir, ed., The Literary Heritage of Classical Islam (Princeton: Darwin Press, 1993), pp. 119-36.
• "Sound and Meaning in Surat al-Qari'a,"Arabica 40.3 (1993): 403-430.
• "Towards A Poetic Translation of Fusus al-Hikam: The Adam Chapter," in S. Hirtenstein, ed., Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi: A Commemorative Volume (Oxford: Element Books, 1993), pp. 124-39.
• "From a History of Mysticism to a Theology of Mysticism," Review Article on B. McGinn's The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism, vol. 1, Journal of Religion, 73.3 (July 1993): 390-399.

• "Sound, Spirit, and Gender in Surat al-Qadr," Journal of the American Oriental Society 111.2 (April-May, 1991): 239-259. Anthologized in A. Rippin, ed., The Qur'an: Style and Contents (Varioum: Aldershot UK, 2001): 332-353.
• "Ibn 'Arabi's Ala Ya Hamamati 1-Arakati wa 1-Bani [Gentle Now, Doves]," Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society X (1991): 1-11. Anthologized in the Harper-Collins World Reader 1:1009-1011.

• "Banat Su'ad: Translation and Interpretive Introduction," Journal of Arabic Literature 21:2 (1990): 140-154.
• Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes by `Alqama, Shanfara, Labid, `Antara, Al-A`sha, and Dhu al-Rumma (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1989).
• "Bewildered Tongue: The Semantics of Mystical Union in Islam" and "Response," in Bernard McGinn and Moshe Idel, ed., Mystical Union and Monotheistic Religions: an Ecumenical Dialogue (New York: MacMillan, 1989): 87-124, 163-173, 219-230, 248-239.
• "Ibn `Arabi's Polished Mirror: Perspective Shift and Meaning Event," Studia Islamica 66 (1988): 121-149.
• "The Qasida and the West: Self-Reflective Stereotype and Critical Encounter," Al-`Arabiyya 20 (1987): 307-357.
• "The Semantics of Universality in the Writings of Ibn `Arabi," Proc. of the Ibn `Arabi Society, 1987.
• Majkl Sels, "Ibn Arabijeva: basta izmedu plamenova, Broj 7",Kulture Istoka: (Beograd: januar-mart, 1986), pp. 7-13. (Translation of "Ibn 'Arabi's Garden Among the Flames").
• "The Mu`allaqa of Tarafa," Journal of Arabic Literature, XVII (1986): 21-33.

•  "Apophasis in Plotinus: A Critical Approach," Harvard Theological Review, 78:1-2 (Jan-April, 1985): 47-67.
• "The Mu`allaqa of Labid, "Translation 13 (Oct/Nov., 1984).
• "Ibn `Arabi 's Garden Among the Flames: a Reevaluation," History of Religions, 23.4 (1984): pp. 287-315.
• "Translation and Interpretation: A New Version of Shanfara 's Lamiyya," Al-`Arabiyya, 16 (1983): 5-25. Essay and Translation.Winner of the 1982 AATA Translation Prize.
• "Dhu al-Rumma's 'To the Two Abodes of Mayya...',"Al-`Arabiyya 15 (1982): 52-65. Essay and Translation. Winner of the 1981 AATA Translation Prize.

• "Ascent (mi`raj)," J. McAuliffe, General Ed., Ency. of the Qur'an (Leiden: E.J. Brill 1999--), forthcoming.
• "Dhikr" (Memory, Remembrance), the Oxford Encylopedia of the Modern Islamic World.
• "Ibn al-`Arabi," Harper's Dictionary of Religion: 475.
• "Baraka," Harper's Dictionary of Religion, p. 104.

• Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: the Global Rise of Religious Violence (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), JAAR 70.4 (December 2002): 909-913.
• Rusmir Mehmutcehajic, Bosnia the Good: Tolerance and Tradition (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000), Slavic Review 61.2 (Summer 2002): 393-394.
• Ger Duijzings, Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), Religion, in press.
• D. Campbell, National Deconstruction: Violence, Identity, and Justice in Bosnia (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1998), The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (July 2000): 137-138.
• J. Stetkevych, Muhammad and the Golden Bough, MESA Bulletin 32 (1998): 60-61.
• F. Friedman, The Bosnian Muslims: Denial of a Nation, Journal of Church and State 40.3 (Summer, 1998): 687-88.
• Shams C. Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism: Remarks and Admonitions, JR 78.1 (January,1988): 72-73.
• The Way of Abu Madyan: The Works of Abu Madyan Shu`ayb, Trans. by V. Cornell, JMIAS in press, 1997.
• Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed. The Legacy of Muslim Spain, JAOS 117.4 (1997): 757-59.
• Tone Bringa, We Are All Neighbors (videocassette) RSR.
• T. Bringa, Being Muslim the Bosnian Way: Identity and Community in a Central Bosnian Village, RSR.
• Akhavan, P. and R. Howse, Yugoslavia: The Former and Future, Journal of Peace and Justice 8.1 (1999):
• H.T. Norris, Islam in the Balkans, MESA Bulletin 29.1 (1995): 112-13.
• J. Stetkevych, The Zephyrs of Najd: The Poetics of Nostalgia in the Classical Arabic Nasib, Al-Masaq 7 (1994): 305-309.
• S. Stetkevych, The Mute Immortals Speak: Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Poetics of Ritual, IJMES 27.1 (1995): 138-40.
• William Chittick, Imam Zayn al-`Abidin, The Psalms of Islam: Al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya, RSR
• M. Idel, Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid, JQR 85.3-4 (Jan-Ap, 1995): 459-61.
• J. Stetkevych, Zephyrs of Nejd, Suzanne Stetkevych, Reorientations, Emil Homerin, From Arab Poet to Sufi Saint, Mustansir Mir, The Literary Heritage of Classical Islam, review essay, JMIAS XVII (1995): 96-99. (A review essay discussing the implications of these works for the study of the poetry of Ibn `Arabi).
• R.S. O'Fahey, Enigmatic Saint: Ahmad Ibn Idris and the Idrisi Tradition, MESA Bulletin 26 (1992): 71-72.
• Stephen Tabachnik, Explorations in Doughty's Arabia Deserta, JAOS 111.4 (1991): 791-92.
• Nasr, Dabashi, and Nasr, Expectation of the Millenium: Shi`ism in History, JR 71:2 (April 1991): 298-99.
• Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Spirituality: Foundations, JR 69:4 (Oct, 1990): 589-90.
• Eric Ormsby, Theodicy in Islam: the Dispute over al-Ghazali's 'Best of All Possible Worlds, HR 28:2 (1988): 185-86.
• Carl Ernst, Words of Ecstasy in Sufism, IJMES 19:2 (May, 1987).
• Ibn `Arabi, Journey to the Lord of Power, translated by Rabia Terri Harris, JNES 45:2 (April, 1986): 167-69.
• Tawfiq al-Hakim, Return of Consciousness, Horizons, Summer, 1985.
• Peter Awn, Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi Psychology, JR 65:1 (January, 1985).
• W. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, The Muslim World 75:2 (April, 1985).
• John Esposito's Voices of Resurgent Islam, MESA Bulletin 18:2 (Dec., 1984).
• Richard Martin, Islam, MESA Bulletin 17:2 (Dec., 1983).

Islamic Thought (Qur’an, Sufism, Philosophy, Literature). Arabic Language and Literature (Classical Qasida, Sufi Literature, Qur'an, Modern Arabic Literature). Mystical Thought and Literature (Greek, Islamic, Christian, Jewish). Comparative Religions. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Religion and Violence.

COURSES TAUGHT

Introduction to Islam Islamic Literature and Civilization; Islam and the West; The Mid-East Love Lyric in Translation (Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu); Sacred Texts and Religious Traditions: Most years the focus of this course has been on Hinduism and Islam, although Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism have been covered in some years; Comparative Mysticism (Jewish, Christian, Islamic); Seminar in Islamic Philosophy and Theology; Religions of the East (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism); The Arabian Ode; Cultural Identity in Third World Literatures; Religion and Violence

LANGUAGES

Arabic (Classical, Modern Standard, Egyptian, Tunisian), French, Latin, Classical Greek, Italian, Spanish, German, some Hebrew, some Persian.

ACADEMIC PAPERS AND INVITED LECTURES

2005

• The Bridge and the Dragon: Pilgrimage and 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Religion and Nationalism Conference, Harvard University, Center for World Religions, 22 May 2005.
• Religion and Violence in the Post Cold-War World, Distinguished Lecture Series, West Chester University, 23 March 2005.
• Mysticism and Theology in Islam, Symposium on Mysticism and Theology in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Temple Emanu El, New York City, 15 March 2005.

2004

• Ghazal: Genre, Enigma, or Act of Translation? Stanford University, 14 October 2004.
• Andalus Urbanite as Bedouin Lover: Translating Ibn al-`Arabi's Translation of Desires, Catholic University of America, 8 February 2005.
• The Issue of 'Islamist Terrorism': Religion and Violence Post 9-11, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 8 March 2004.
• Approaching the Qur'an in the Public School Classroom, Philadelphia Community College, 8-9 June, 2004.
• Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, 15-16 May 2004.
• Getlin Lecture, Trinity College, Harford, Connecticut, 11 March 2004.
• Towns Family Lecture in Practical Ethics, Allegheny University, Erie, Pennsylvania, 9 March 2004.
• Mysticism and Islam, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, 18 February 2004.
• University of Arizona, UA Presents (University Arts Series) and Middle Eastern Studies, Tucson, Arizona, 9 February 2004.
• Raisins of Wrath: Interpretation, the Qur'an, and the West, Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 5 February 2004.
• Poetry and Mysticism, Temple Emanu-El, New York City, New York, 28 January 2004.
• The Meaning of Houris in Qur'anic Paradise, Stanford University, Public Lecture, 15 January 2004. Seminar 16 January 2004.
• Translating the Translation of Desires, Translation Symposium, Middlebury College, 12 January 2004.
  

  ---

  2003
  
• Harvard University Mysticism Workshop, 12 December 2003.
• Overcoming Religious Nationalism in the Balkans, The Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. 5 December 2003.
• Goodspeed Lecture, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, 18 November 2003.
• Islam a Religion of Peace? State University of New York New Paltz, New Paltz, New York, 4 November 2003.
• Keynote Address,"Religion and Violence after the Cold War, Mid-Atlantic World History Association Conference, Monmouth, New Jersey, 24 October 2003.
• The Poetics of Desire in 13th Century Islamic and Christian Mysticism, City University of New York Graduate School, New York, 17 October 2003.
• Distinguished Voices University Lecture Series, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, 23 September 2003.
• Scholars' Convocation, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, 11 September 2003.
• Islam, Religion, and Violence, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, 13 March 2003.
• Pluriform Culture in al-Andalus, at the "Exploring Cultural Boundaries: Islam in Interaction" Symposium, Toronto, 3 March 2003.
• Representing the Koran, World of Islam Lecture Series, Munk Centre for International Studies and the Department of Near Eastern and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, Toronto, 3 March 2003.
• The Infinity of Desire, Department of Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, Toronto, 3 March 2003.
• The Qur'an, Peace, and Violence, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 26 February 2003.
• Understanding Islam: Infusing Islamic Studies into the Curriculum NEH Workshop Focus Worshop Presentations, "The Qur'an" (morning workshop) and "Islamic Literature," afternoon workshop, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 21 February 2003.

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2002

• Ibn `Arabi and the Clash of Civilizations, International Conference on Ibn `Arabi and Post-Modernity, University of Rabat (Muhammad V), Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Rabat, Morocco: 24-26 October 2002.
• Islam and the "Clash of Civilizations, Ada Howe Kent Lecture, Smith College, Northampton, MA, 3 October 2002.
• Readings from Stations of Desire: Original poems and new translations from Ibn `Arabi, The Poetry Center, Smith College, Northhampton, MA, 3 October 2002.
• Islam beyond the Clash of Civilizations, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, 2 October 2002.
• Poetry Reading from Stations of Desire, "Necessary Translations," The Kitchen, New York, 24 September 2002.
• Approaching the Qur'an and the University of North Carolina Summer Reading, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 5 September 2002 (available on videotape from CSPAN Book Forum).
• Crosses of Blood: Religion, Peace, and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The annual Paul Hanly Furfey Lecture, Association for the Sociology of Religion, Chicago, 16 August 2002.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, International Forum Bosna Feature Lecture, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 2002.
• Islamic Civilization and the Contemporary World, Stanford University, 2 May 2002.
• Readings from Stations of Desire, Poetry Reading, Yale University, 17 April 2002.
• Translating Classical Arabic Poetry: Theory and Practice," Yale University, 17 April 2002.
• Love Poetry and Mystical Philosophy in Islam, Wesleyan University, 16 April 2002.
• Readings from Stations of Desire, Poetry Reading, Wesleyan University, 16 April 2002.
• Readings from Stations of Desire, New York City, 15 April 2002. Islam and the Media, University of Southern Maine, Mediafest Conference, 10AM Woodbury Campus Center, Portland, 11 April 2002.
• Convivencia in al-Andalus, Garden of Remembrance Museum, Newark, NJ, 7 April 2002.
• Muslim Identity in Europe: the Bosnian Case, in "Debating Civilizations," University Seminar on Civilization Clash, Center for International Studies, Duke University, 7:00PM, Franklin Center, 3 April 2002.Islamic Mysticism and Poetry," Duke University, 4:30 Franklin Center, 4 April 2002.
• 7-11 and the Bosnian Genocide, Bosnian-American Cultural Association (BACA), Chicago, 23 March 2002.
• The Limits of Language" Rosemont College, 16 March 2002.
• Poetry and Mysticism in Islam, Harvard Humanities Series on Philosophy, Poetry, and Literature, 7:00, Barker Center, Harvard, 14 March 2002.
• September 11 and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Boston College, 13 March 2002.
• Readings from Stations of Desire, Poetry Reading, New York City, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 15 February 2002.
• Directions to the Heart of Islam, Pendle Hill Study Center, Pendle Hill, PA, 11 February 2002.
• The Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Feature Lecture, Earlham College, 4 February 2002.

  ---

• Love As Knowledge in the Thought of Ibn `Arabi, American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, Denver, 20 November 2001.
• Sept 11 and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Swarthmore College, 8 November 2001
• Shattered Society, Blasted Shrines: Interreligious Reconstruction as a Redevelopment Strategy in the Balkans, Center for Ethics and World Societies, Colgate University, 17 September 2001.
• The Qur'an and Liberal Arts, Humanities Colloquium, Colgate University, 18 September 2001.
• The Qur'an in a World of Diversity, Annual Conference of the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), Chicago, 1 September 2001.
• Love, Longing, and Belonging in the Thought of Ibn `Arabi, Ibn `Arabi Society, Oxford, St. Cross, 25 May 2001.
• Parallel Worlds, Intersecting Worlds: Poetry and Philosophy in Islam, Ismaili Institute, 42 Grosvenor Gardens, London, 24 May 2001, Thursday at 3pm.
• Finding God in Every Form: Ibn ‘Arabi's Mystical Inclusiveness, Temenos Academy, The Essex Church, Nottinghill Gate, London, 23 May 2001, Wednesday at 7pm.
• Shaykh al-Mufid's View of Karbala and Its Implications for Our Time, Feature Address, Annual Imam Husayn Commoration Day, Islamic Center, New York City, Sunday, 29 April, 3pm.

  ---

• Finding God in Every Form: Ibn `Arabi's Critique of Essentialism, Distinguished Lecture Series, Magill University and Concordia College (co-sponsored), Mcgill University, Montreal, 10 November 2000.
• The Young Woman at the Ka`ba: Love and Infinity, Annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, Berkeley, 29 October, 2000.
• Translating Ibn `Arabi's Translation of Desires, Washington University, St. Louis, 7 October 2000.
• In Arabic: "Ibn `Arabi bayna as-sharq wa l-gharb" (Ibn `Arabi between East and West), University Muhammad V, Faculty of Philosophy, 5 May 2000.
• Ibn `Arabi in a Post-Structuralist World, Comparative Culture Series, University of Tunis, Manouba, 7 April 2000.
• Sound and Meaning in the Qur'an, American Language Center, Fes, Morocco, 19 March 2000.
• Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi: his Influence in His World and Ours, Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), Rabat, Morocco, 10 March 2000.

  ---

• Sound Figures and Meaning in the Qur'an, Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. Sunday, November 22, 1999. Chair of the same panel on Qur'anic Recitation.
• Arabic Love Lyric as Religion and Philosophy, Harvard Center for Literary and Cultural Studies, Harvard University, November 18, 1999.
• The Poetry of Al-Andalus, Bryn Mawr College, November 8, 1999.
• Marguerite Porete, the Beguine Mystics, and Ibn `Arabi, International Congress on Female Mysticism, Avila, Spain, October 29-31, 1999.
• Religion, Genocide, and Reconstruction in the Balkans, Cornell University, October 4, 1999.
• Serbian Orthodox Militance and the Tragedy in the Balkans, Distinguished Guest Lecture, Orthodox Christian Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 23 September 1999.
• Meister Eckhart and Ibn `Arabi on Time and Mystical Union, The Eckhart Society 12th Annual Conference, Plater College, Oxford, August 28, 1999.
• The Construction of Islam in Serbian Religious Mythology, Islam and Bosnia: The Historical and Cultural Paradigms for Conflict Resolution and Foeign Policy Making in the Case of the Multi-Ethnic State," University of Western Ontaria, London, Ontario, May 30, 1999.
• Balkan Muslims in the Vice of Regional Nationalisms, Banquet Keynote Address, 1999 Meeting of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, April 30, 1999.
• Sound Figures in the Hymnic Suras of the Qur'an, Distinguished Lecture Series, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, February 22, 1999.
• The Arabic Love Lyric in the Works of Ibn Zaydun, Ibn Khafaja, and Ibn `Arabi, Center for Judaic Studies, Poetry and Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Jewry Seminar Series, Philadelphia, January 13, 1999.

  ---

• Mi`raj and Vision in Islam, The Power of Sight Seminar Series, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, December 2, 1998.
• Religion and Conflict in Bosnia, in the Gest Lecture Series and Peace and Conflict Studies Program Conference on Religion, Ethnicity and Identity: Implications for Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Haverford College, 12 November 1998.
• The Breath of the East Wind (as-Saba)in Ibn `Arabi's Tarjuman al-Ashwaq (Translation of Desires), at the 12th Annual USA Symposium, Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, University of California, Berkeley, November 8, 1998. In Search of a Nation: Restoring a Multiethnic Bosnia, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts April 25,1998.
• Historical Dimensions of Religious Conflict in Bosnia, at In Search of a Nation: Restoring a Multiethnic Bosnia, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts April 25,1998.
• The Roles of Religious Actors in the Former Yugoslavia, at The Sacred, the Word, and Gobal Society: Religious Dimensions of Violence, Peace, and Security, an International Symposium, Notre Dame University, April 17, 1998.
• Ruins of Love and Civilization in Ibn `Arabi's Translation of Desires, Annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, April 4, 1998.
• Translating the Qur'an, Emory University, February 6, 1998.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, University of Georgia, February 9, 1998.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, Davidson College, Charlotte, VA, February 10, 1998.
• The Mu`allaqa of `Antara, Augusta State University, Augusta, GA, February 11, 1998.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, University of Alabama, Huntsville, February 12, 1998. 

  ---

• Genocide as Ritual, American Academy of Religion, November 22, 1997, San Francisco, Panel dedicated to a discussion of Michael Sells's book The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, invited lecture, Rochester University, 21 October, 1997.
• As Long as Sarajevo Exists: a Tribute to the Spirit of Tolerance Under Fire, New York City, 21 October 1997.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia" Keynote Address for On the Fault Line: a Colloquium on the Bosnian Conflict Brown College, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, February 21-22, 1997.
• What Cannot Be Said: Mystical Language in Medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, York University, North York, Canada, March 19, 1997.
• Religious Dimensions of Genocide in Bosnia, York University, North York, Canada, March 19, 1997.
• From Kosovo to Sarajevo: Interreligious Community, Conflict, and Sacred Space, University of Toronto, Symposium on "Islam and the West: Patterns of Integration and Conflict," March 20, 1997.
• Religion, History, and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, University of Richmond, March 30, 1997.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., International Conference on Genocide, Religion, and Modernity, May 13, 1997.
• Ibn Zaydun's Nuniyya and Ibn `Arabi's Gentle Now Doves of the Moringa and Thornberry Thicket, Reading of Original Translations and Commentary, "A Shining Example: The Golden Age of Spain," St. Bartholomew's Church, 21 May 1997, sponsored by The Interfaith Center of New York. 

  ---

• Interpreting Ibn `Arabi's Interpretation of Desires, Annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, August 11-17, Chisholme, Scotland. (I)
• National Public Radio, The Michael Krasney Show, One Hour Interview on The Bridge Betrayed, November 8, 1996.
• Sound and Meaning in the Hymnic Suras of the Qur'an, University of California Berkeley, November 10, 1996.
• The Divine Names in Ibn `Arabi's Translation of Desires, Annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society, University of California, Berkeley, November 11, 1996.
• Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, an Overview, Middle East Studies Association, Providence, November 21, 1996.
• National Public Radio, New York and Company, Leonard Lopate Interview; (one hour) on The Bridge Betrayed, New York, December 16, 1996. 

  ---

• Poetry and Mysticism in Ibn `Arabi's Translation of Desires, Harvard University, Center for World Religions, December 12, 1995.
• Religious Dimensions of Genocide in Bosnia, St. Joseph's University, 15 November 1995.
• Kosovo Ethno-Religious Ideology and the Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, University of California Riverside, Religion and Ethnic Conflict Conference, April, 1995.
• Ibn Zaydun's 'Religion of Love', Middle East Studies Association, Washington D.C., December 7, 1995.
• Modern Islamic Fiction and the Teaching of Islam as a Religion, Middle East Studies Association, Washington, D.C., December 9, 1995.
• Interpreting Ibn `Arabi's Interpretation of Desires, Annual Symposium of the Muhyiddin Ibn`Arabi Society, Chisholme, Scotland.
• Kosovo Ethno-Religious Ideology and the Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, University of California Riverside, Religion and Ethnic Conflict Conference, April, 1995.
• Codes of Genocide, in Cultural Resistance under Siege, New York City, Store Front Art and Architecture, Warchitecture - Sarajevo: a Wounded City, 11 February, 1995.

  ---

• Longing, Belonging, and Pilgrimage, Invited Lecture, Cornell University Symposium of Languages of Power in al-Andalus, November 5, 1994.
• Response" to a panel dedicated to Michael Sells' Mystical Languages of Unsaying, Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy and International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, SUNY Binhampton, October 15, 1994.
• Kamal as Perfection and Completion in the Thought of Ibn `Arabi, Ibn `Arabi Symposium, Oxford, April 10, 1994.
• Simile and Modes of Consciousness in the Pre-Islamic Qasida, Invited Lecture, University of Pennsylvania, March 15, 1994.

  ---

• Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia: Execution and Mytholiterary Ideology, Middle East Studies Association, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, November 8, 1993.
• Emanation and Apophasis in the Writings of Meister Eckhart, Patristics, Medeival, and Renaissance Conference, Villanova University, October 3, 1993.
• Interpreting Ibn `Arabi's Interpreter of Desires (Tarjuman al-Ashwaq), University of California, Berkeley, September 8, 1993.
• Meister Eckhart and Marguerite Porete: Towards an Apophasis of Gender, International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI., 5/9/93.

  ---

• Ibn `Arabi's Interpreter of Desires and the Classical Arabic Qasida, Middle East Studies Association, Portland, Oregon, 10/92.
• Profanation and Consecration in the Early Arabic Nasib, American Oriental Society, Cambridge, MA., 4/92.
• The Naqa Sacrifice and the Pre-Islamic Qasida, Middle East Literature Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania, 5/92.
• From a History of Mysticism to a Theology of Mysticism: Bernard McGinn's The Presence of God, vol. 1, International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI., 5/92.

  ---

• Intertextual Performance and the Discovery of Poetic Modes in the Early Arabic Qasida, Middle East Studies Association, Washington D.C., 11/91.
• Refraction and Interpermeation in the Fusus Chapter on Abraham, International Ibn 'Arabi Symposium, Oxford, 4/91.
• Sound Figures in the Qur'an: Gender and Emotion Dimensions, American Academy of Religion, Mid-Atlantic Region, Barnard College, New York, 3/11/91.
• Song of the Desert: Translation, Remembrance, and the Arabian Poetic Heritage, University Professors Program, Boston University, Translation Seminar, 1/11/91.

  ---

• Readings from Desert Tracings, Featured Readings in Arabic Literature, Middle East Studies Association, Austin, 11/11/90.
• Bashama's Dromedarian: Simile and Symbol Worlds in the Naqa Sections of the early Arabic Qasida, Middle East Studies Association, Austin, 11/11/90.
• The Burning of Marguerite Porete, Delaware Valley Historical Association, University of Pennsylvania, 11/3/90.
• Sound and Meaning in Surat al-Zalzala, American Academy of Religion, Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA, 4/6/90
• The Dissembling Simile in the Early Arabic Qasida: Poesis as Talawwun, American Oriental Society, Atlanta, Georgia, 3/27/90.
• The Poet and the Prophet: Ka`b ibn Zuhayr and the Birth of Islam, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 2/90. Invited Lecture.

• 3 Enoch, the Hekhalot, and the Islamic Hermetic Tradition, American Academy of Religion, Anaheim, November 1989.
• Sound and Meaning in Su rat al-Qa ri’a, Middle East Studies Association, Toronto, November 1989.
• Element and Spirit in Ibn `Arabi’s Understanding of the Human, Third Annual Symposium of the Muhyi ad-Din Ibn `Arabi Society, Berkelely, 30 September 1989.
• Sufism Toward the Year 1240 C.E. Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, February, 1989.

• The Qasida and The Qur'an: The Case of Karam, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, 20 November 1988.

• The Early Yawm al-Din Passages: Textuality and Translation in Qur’anic Discourse, American Academy of Religion, Boston, 7 December 1987.
• Like a Tented Bier: Eros, Death, and Mimetic Doubling in the Mu`allaqa of `Antara, Middle East Studies Association, Baltimore, 16 November 1987. Semantics of Universality in the Writings of Ibn `Arabi, Symposium of the Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi Society, U.C. Berkeley, 12 September 1987.
• The Semantics of Mystical Union in Islam, Institute for Contemporary Arab and Islamic Studies, Villanova University, 14 February 1987.
• Remembrance, Secret, and Mystical Union in Arabic Literature, The Oriental Club of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, 5 January 1987.

• Neoplatonism in Plotinus and Sufism, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, 25 November 1986..
• Overflow of Meaning in the Sufism of Ibn `Arabi, Reed College, 28 April 1986.

• Toward a Poetics of Sufism, American Academy of Religion, Anaheim, November 1985.
• Mystical Dialectic in Plotinus and Ibn `Arabi, Temple University, November 1985.
• Symbolic Resonance in the Early Qasida, Middle Eastern Literature Workshop, University of Pennsylvania, March 1985.
• The Theory of Light from an Apophatic Perspective in Plotinus and Ibn `Arabi, Asian Studies Association, March 1985.
• Apophasis in Plotinus, A Critical Approach, American Philosophical Association and the International Society of Neoplatonic Studies, Chicago, April 1985.

• Tarafa's Mu`allaqa: A Reading, University of Pennsylvania, November 1984.
• Ibn `Arabi's Doctrine of Takhallul, Divine-Human Interinfusion, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, November 1984.

• Ibn `Arabi's Polished Mirror: Perspective Shift and Meaning Event, Middle East Studies Association, Chicago, November 1983.
• Readings of Arabic Poetry in Translation, University of California, Berkeley, Middle East Center, November 1983.
• Ibn `Arabi's Garden Among the Flames: a Reevaluation. Presented in Arabic to the University of Chicago Middle East Center, under the title al-bahth al-insani fi tasawwuf Ibn `Arabi (The Humanistic Quest in the Sufism of Ibn `Arabi).

• Neoplatonism in Greek, Christian and Islamic Thought, Near East Club Lecture, The University of Chicago, 1982.
• The Ghul as Symbol of Change in Classical and Sufi Arabic Literature, Presented in Arabic to the Chicago Middle East Center, Arabic Colloquium, Spring 1982.

• Ibn `Arabi and the Plotinan Tradition, presented in Arabic to the Chicago Middle East Center Arabic Colloquium, Fall 1980, under the title Ibn `Arabi wa al-aflatuniyya al-haditha.

DISSERTATION

The Metaphor and Dialectic of Emanation in Plotinus, John the Scot, Meister Eckhart and Ibn `Arabi. A comparative study of the dynamic of emanation in the four authors from an interdisciplinary point of view, based upon the original Greek, Latin, and Arabic texts.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Middle East Studies Association
• American Academy of Religion
• International Society of Neoplatonic Studies Eriugena Society
• American Oriental Society
• Mudyiddin Ibn `Arabi Association (Honorary Lifetime Fellow)

   WORK IN PROGRESS BOOKS:

• Jihad and Crusade: Religion and Violence after the Cold War. Book under contract from Knopf.
• A Critical Study of the Early Qasida: A poetics of early Arabic poetry based upon close study of original Arabic Texts.
• Editor and Contributor, Ghazal: The Classical Love Lyric. Essays On Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Urdu, Turkish.
• Editor and Contributor, The Greatest Love Poems of the Islamic World, translations from Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Urdu, and Turkish.
• Complete Translation of Ibn `Arabi's Translation of Desires (Tarjuman al-Ashwaq).
• Jihad and Crusade, under contract to Knopf, Random House, projection completion 2004.

  ARTICLES

  "The Cosmology of the Mi`raj tradition and the Jewish Merkavah tradition compared." 

MONOGRAPH

• An Arabic Qasida "Against Aristotle and the Astrologers": Text, Translation, and Commentary (co-authored with L.V. Berman). This study is complete but publication will be delayed because of the death of Prof. Berman.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Co-founder, director, and former president, Community of Bosnia Foundation (COB) a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to opposing all forms of genocide and racism, to supporting a culturally pluralistic and multireligious Bosnia-Herzegovina, and helping Bosnians in tangible ways. COB has supported Bosnian Art and Culture and the International War Crimes Tribunal on Bosnia and Rwanda. It has sponsored the education in the U.S. at high schools, colleges, and graduate schools for 60 survivors of "ethnic cleansing" genocide in Bosnia. For further information on the Foundation, see my personal COB web page at http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/cobhome3.html.

Appointment as Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1991-1996. Dissertation Committees: Kathleen O'Connor, University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. 1994 Sandy Brainard, Temple University (in progress)

Outside Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, 20 cases

Manuscript and Proposal Review for: Cambridge University Press, SUNY Press (5), Pennsylvania State University Press, Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, University of South Carolina Press, University of California Press (2), University of Chicago Press, St. Martin's Press, University of Pennsylvania Press, Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality.

Manuscript Religions Consultant for Prentice Hall, High School and Middle School History Textbooks.

Selected Public Activities. The following are some examples from appearances in television, radio, and newspaper interviews, newspaper and magazine guest columns, Quaker publications, and talks to religious congregations.  

• Quaker General Conference, Book Talk, Seminar, General Address, 2-3 July 2003.
• For the Lectures, Interviews, and Op-Ed Articles by Michael Sells concerning the controversy over the University of North Carolina Selection of Approaching the Qur'an for the Annual Summer Reading requirement, May through December 2002, see Michael Sells on the UNC-Qur'an Controversy (at http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/UNC_ApproachingTheQur'an.htm).
• Understanding Islam after September 11, Pendle Hill Quaker Center, 11 February 2002.
• Encountering Islam, St. Thomas Episcopal, West Whitehead, PA: 3 Sunday Presentations: 27 January, 10 March, 17 March 2002.
• The Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Earhlam College, 4 February 2002
• Understanding Islam, St. Charles Seminary, Philadelphia, 15 January, 2002.
• Understanding Islam, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Exton, PA, 3 Sunday Presentations, December 2, 9, 16.
• In the Wake of Sept 11, Board of Directors, Anti Defamation League, Philadelphia, 11 December 2001.
• Islam and Sept 11, Westtown Friends Meeting, 2 December 2001.
• Understanding Islam after September 11, Haverford Monthly Meeting of Friends," 25 November 2001.
• University of Arkansas, Town Meeting, Religion and Violence, 12 November 2001.
• Town Meeting on Coping with Suffering and Evil Sunday, 11 November 2001, McMichaels Lecture Series, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
• The Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Swarthmore College, 8 November 2001.
• Approaching the Qur'an, Feature Interview, Ashland Oregon Public Radio, 6 November 2001.
• The Heart of Islam, Feature Radio Interview, Philadelphia, 30 October 2001.
• Interlinked Factors in the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Haverford Middle School Assembly followed by three smaller assemblies and a class appearance, 29 October 2001.
• Islam and the West after the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian, 28 October 2001.
• Interlinked Factors in the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Haverford High School Assembly, 22 October 2001.
• Interlinked Factors in the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Penn Charter Upper School Assembly, 21 October 2001.
• Consultant to WBR Radio's In Person: Speaking of Faith, "The Spirit of Islam," Krista Tippet Feature Interviews with Omid Safi and Seemi Bushra Ghazi, 19 October 2001.
• Interlinked Factors in the 9/11 Tragedy, Germantown Academy Middle School Assembly, 10 October 2001.
• Islam in the Aftermath of Sept. 11, Villanova University, 8 October 2001.
• The Taliban, 30 Minute Interview, Philly Live, WYBE Television Philadelphia, Hosted by Ashok Gangadean, 8 November 2001
• Interlinked Factors in the 9/11 Attack, Germantown Academy Upper School, Assembly followed by three hour-long question and answer sessions, 01 October 2001.
• Islam and Sept. 11, Bryn Mawr Teach-In, 28 September 2001.
• Interlinked Factors in the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Germantown Friends Upper School Assembly, 26 September, 2001.
• The Politics of Islam, Hour Long Feature Interview, Radio Times with Marty Moss-Cowane, WHYY Public Radio, 24 September 2001.
• Islam and the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Haverford College Parents Weekend, 22 September 2001.
• Religious Dimensions in the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Haverford College Faculty Forum, 19 September 2001.
• Feature Interview, PBS, Empire of Faith, Part 1, Debut Showing, 8 May 2001; consultant for the entire Empire of Faith Series.
• Feature Interview, WYBE Television's Philly Live, Hosted by Ashok Gangadean, "Bosnia: The Current Situation," with Azra Hromadzic, Philadlephia, 9 April 2001.
• Approaching the Qur'an: Ten Selected Suras, Translation and Commentary by Michael Sells, with introduction containing personal reflections on Quaker Universalism and Islam, A Pamphlet of the Quaker Universalist Fellowship, December, 2000 (includes ten Suras selected and reprinted from Michael A Sells, Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations (Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press, 1999).
• SufiBooks, New York City, October 20th, 1999, Book Reading, Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations (White Cloud Press, 1999).
• Norristown Library Lecture Series. Two Lectures on Bosnia and Kosovo. Saturday, October 2 Norristown Public Library and Sunday, October 16, 1999, Whitehurst Retirement Community.
• Voice of America, Genocide and Denial, October 1, 1999.
• The Serbian Orthodox Church and Violence in the Balkans, Neuman Center, University of Pennsylvania, Orthodox Fellowship, September 23, 1999.
• Featured in the main article for the Rufus Jones Associates Newsletter, ""Michael Sells: Scholar and Activist," August 1999.
• Interview, Voice of America, Serbian Orthodox Church and the Belgrade Regime, August 9, 1999.
• Feature Associated Press article on Michael Sells, "Nato Bombings [of Serbian Monasteries] Disputed by Professor," July 20, 1999.
• Background Interview for ABC News, Nightline, July 7 1999 program on Kosovo and the destruction of sacral sites.
• Interviewed at length for background, and quoted in the feature article on a Serbian death squad leader in Kosovo, "Salipur is Dead, Everybody Says So," byline Pec, Kosovo, Ed Sebesta, Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1999.  
• Interview, "Pro-Belgrade Sentiment among Leftist and Far Right American political groups." One Hour, Democracy Report with Louis Van Den Berg, Los Angeles, June 25, 1999. 
• Interview, on the Serbian Orthodox Church, Peace, and Violence in Kosovo, Voice of America, June 24, 1999.
• Interview, Ian Masters, "Background Briefing" on Genocide, Pro-Belgrade Sentiment, and the American Left, Sponsored by the UCLA Center for International Relations, Los Angeles, June 20, 1999, part A, p. 21.
• Michael Sells, "How Serbs Used Monasteries to Entice Ethnic Hatred," Column, June 1, posted on the Kosovo Crisis Centre web page feature, June 14, 1999, mirrored at the Kosovo Conflict and Genocide web page.
• Helped with background, and was quoted and cited in the feature article, Bill Broadway, "No Shelter for Yugoslav Shrines; Accounts Conflict on Damage to Sites Near NATO Targets," Washington Post, Sunday, May 22, 1999, pg. B08; Religion.
• Helped with background, and was quoted and cited in the feature article, Alissa Rubin, "Crisis in Yugoslavia:Religious Identity at the Heart of Balkan War," Los Angeles Times, Sunday, April 18, 1999.
• Lecture, "The Polarization of Islam and the West and Possible Solutions" in the conference Coping with Violence Done in the Name of Religion: a Dialogue, Haverford College, Sponsored by The Global Dialogue Institute and The Board of Governors of The Greater Philadeliphia Philosophy Consortium, 27 March 1999.
• Featured Interview, The Twentieth Century with Mike Wallace, Yugoslavia, The History Channel, February 12, 1999 showing.
• Genocide and Reconstruction in Bosnia, Lecture, Church of the Advent, Kenneth Square, PA, November 7, 1998.
• "Religion and Persecution," Hour-long interview and call in program with Voice of America, July, 1997.
• "Conflict Resolution: Religion and Genocide," In the Know with Judith Latham, Voice of America Interview, October 16, 1997.
• "Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia," Church of the Advent, Kenneth Square, PA, 9 November 1997, appearance with Bosnian students Alema and Alem Lemes.
• Author's Book Reading, The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, Borders, Marlton NJ, April 17, 1997.
• NPR, Philadelphia, Radio Times, Interview on Religious Dimensions of Conflict the the Balkans. April 1997.
• "Bosnian Students: Keeping the Culture Alive," Lecture, Delaware Valley College, 28 April 1997.
• Author's Reading from The Bridge Betrayed, Borders Books, Chestnut Hill, PA, January 24, 1997.
• Feature Article on Michael Sells, "Author Sees Religious Motives to Conflict," Richard Sine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 22, 1997.
• "Religious Dimensions of Genocide in Bosnia," Lecture, Kaiserman Campus, Jewish Community Center, Wynnewood, PA, January 21, 1997.
• "Islam and its Relations with the West," Lecture, First Presbyterian Church, Philadlephia, January 19, 1997.
• "Religion and Genocide in Bosnia," Lecture, Trinity Episcopal Church, New Hope, PA, January 12, 1997.
• Author's Reading from The Bridge Betrayed, Borders Books, Rosemont, PA, January 15, 1997.
• "Genocide in Bosnia: Prospects for Peace & Justice," Lecture, Jewish Community Center of Philadelphia, Daroff Campus, January 7, 1997.
• NPR, Philadelphia, Radio Times, Interview on the Genocide in Bosnia and the Bosnian Student Program of the Community of Bosnia Foundation, with Vanja Filipovic and Amina Kurtovic. October, 1996.
• NPR, San Francisco, Michael Krasney, Feature Interview on The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, November 8, 1996.
• "Don't Concede A Divided Bosnia," Guest Column, Christian Science Monitor, 8 November 1996.
• NPR, New York, New York and Company, Leonard Lopate, Feature Interview on The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, December 16, 1996.
• "Christoslavism & Other Religious Dimensions of Genocide in Bosnia," Lecture, Carleton University, Ottawa, January 10, 1995.
• "Bosnia-Herzegovina between War and Final Solution: Preparing for the Final Battle," Guest Column, The Turkish Times, 1 March 1995.
  (The argument of this column was that the Serbian army, through three years of atrocities, had shown exactly what it would do if the United Nations and NATO nations turned over to it any one of the UN-declared Safe Areas, four of which were until brutal siege (Goradze, Bihac, Srebrenica, and Zepa). It argued that mass killings would certainly take place and that the United Nations and NATO nations, which seemed on the verge of handing over the Safe Areas to the Serb army must certainly be aware of the pattern of three years. On June 6, 1995, UN Special Representative Yasushi Akashi and UN General Betrand Janvier met for lunch in Split, Croatia, and decided in effect to turn over the Safe Area of Srebrenica to the Serbian army of General Ratko Mladic. When warned about likely consequences by General Rupert Smith, both Akashi and Janvier insisted that General Mladic would not carry out atrocities (see the full transcript of this fateful dialogue at the Srebrenica link on the Community of Bosnia page at http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/cobhome3.html). When Srebrenica was given to General Mladic by the Janvier and Akashi on 11 July 1995, 8,000 boys and men were separated out in front of UN soldiers by General Mladic and led away for extermination).