Wahhabi Doctrine and Global Conflict
Michael Sells is John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Civilization and professor of comparative literature at the University of Chicago where he teaches and studies Qur'anic studies, Sufism, Arabic and Islamic love poetry, mysticism (Greek, Islamic, Christian, and Jewish), and religion and violence.
In his Athenaeum talk, Sells will examine the Wahhabi doctrine and elucidate the basic doctrinal teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of the Wahhabi tradition and of his contemporary successors, the religious scholars of Saudi Arabia. He will also analyze three core doctrines that have been associated with militancy and violence within and outside of Saudi Arabia that pose a dilemma for U.S.-Saudi relations and worldwide efforts to counter radical Salafi violence.
Sells has published eight books and more than 80 articles on Qur'anic studies, Arabic poetry, Sufism, mystical language, and religion and violence. His writings on religion and violence include The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia (1996); The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslims Enemy (2004) which he co-edited and to which he contributed; Armageddon in Christian, Sunni, and Shi`ite Traditions (2013; and Holocaust Abuse: The Case of Hajj Muhammad Amin al-Husayni (2015).
Michael Sells’ Athenaeum talk is co-sponsored by the Kutten Lectureship in Religious Studies at CMC.