This looks like an interesting couple of talks for anyone looking at esoteric religious movements at the fringes of the late-antique/early medieval west. As our informant puts it: ‘the Islamic renunciates living in border fortresses are a massive ‘missing’ piece in the esoteric history of ‘the West’ (or rather the far west of ‘the West’)’. Here is the invitation:

Dear all,

you are cordially invited to the interdisciplinary guest lecture “Monasteries and Ribats as seat of religious devotion and power”, organized by the RomanIslam – Center for Comparative Empire and Transcultural Studies, University of Hamburg.
It will take place on Wed. December 15, 2021, 5 -7 pm (German time) on Zoom and will comprise the lectures “ Monasteries in Late Antique Iberia. Places of power, places of resistance” by Pablo C. Díaz (University of Salamanca) and “ The Early Islamic Ribāṭ: From Zāhid Border Warrior Fortress to Ṣufī Monastery” by Deborah Tor (University of Notre Dame).
Please confirm your participation by Dec. 14, 2021 to romanislam@uni-hamburg.de. You will then receive a link enabling you to access the event.

Best regards,
Rocco Selvaggi
———-
Dr. Rocco Selvaggi
Academic Coordinator

DFG Center for Advanced Study “RomanIslam – Center for Comparative Empire and Transcultural Studies”

Universität Hamburg
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1 / Raum 011
D-20146 Hamburg
T. +49 40 42838 2116