Building an Akbarian Tradition for the New Millenium: Toward a New Theology of Difference Ibn 'Arabi Society

Vincent J. Cornell is Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2000-2006, he was Professor of History and Director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies at the University of Arkansas. From 1991-2000, he taught at Duke University. His published works include over twenty articles and three books, including The Way of Abu Madyan (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1996) and Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism (Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1998). His most recent publication is Voices of Islam, Vincent J. Cornell General Editor (Westport, Connecticut and London: Praeger, 2007), 5 volumes. This comprehensive introduction to Islamic religion, thought, life, and civilization includes chapters by 50 Muslim authors, including many of the premier scholars of Islamic Studies. Volume titles and editors: Volume 1 Voices of Tradition (Vincent J. Cornell); Volume 2 Voices of the Spirit (Vincent J. Cornell); Volume 3, Voices of Life: Family, Home, and Society (Virginia Gray Henry Blakemore); Volume 4 Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science (Vincent J. Cornell); Volume 5 Voices of Change (Omid Safi). Dr. Cornell's interests cover the entire spectrum of Islamic thought from Sufism to theology and Islamic law. He has lived and worked in Morocco for nearly six years, and has spent considerable time both teaching and doing research in Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. He is currently working on projects on Islamic ethics and moral theology in conjunction with the Shalom Hartmann Institute in Jerusalem and the Elijah Interfaith Institute. For the past six years, he has been a key participant the Building Bridges Seminars hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.