Ibn ‘Arabi and the Contemporary West: Beshara and the Ibn ‘Arabi Society

297 Pages·2012·3.39 MB·English

by  Isobel Jeffery-Street

IBN ‘ARABI AND THE CONTEMPORARY WEST
Comparative Islamic Studies
Series Editor: Brannon Wheeler, US Naval Academy
This book series, like its companion journal of the same title, publishes work that integrates
Islamic studies into the contemporary study of religion, thus providing an opportunity for
expert scholars of Islam to demonstrate the more general signifi cance of their research both
to comparatavists and to specialists working in other areas. Attention to Islamic materials
from outside the central Arabic lands is of special interest, as are comparisons that stress
the diversity of Islam as it interacts with changing human conditions.
Published
Orientalists, Islamists and the Global Public Sphere: A Genealogy of the Modern
Essentialist Image of Islam
Dietrich Jung
Earth, Empire and Sacred Text: Muslims and Christians as Trustees of Creation
David L. Johnston
Ibn ‘Arabi and the Contemporary West: Beshara and the Ibn ‘Arabi Society
Isobel Jeffery-Street
Notes from the Fortune-Telling Parrot: Islam and the Struggle for Religious Pluralism
in Pakistan
David Pinault
Prolegomena to a History of Islamicate Manichaeism
John C. Reeves
IBN ‘ARABI AND THE CONTEMPORARY WEST
BESHARA AND THE IBN ‘ARABI SOCIETY
ISOBEL JEFFERY-STREET
Published by Equinox Publishing Ltd.

UK: Unit S3, Kelham House, 3 Lancaster Street, Sheffield, S3 8AF
USA: DBBC, 28 Main Street, Oakville, CT 06779

www.equinoxpub.com

First published 2012

© Isobel Jeffery-Street 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any
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publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Jeffery-Street, Isobel.
Ibn Arabi and the contemporary West : Beshara and the Ibn Arabi
Society / Isobel Jeffery-street.
p. cm. -- (Comparative Islamic studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84553-670-1 (hb) -- ISBN 978-1-84553-671-8 (pb) 1. Ibn
al-'Arabi, 1165-1240. 2. Ibn al-'Arabi, 1165-1240--Influence. 3.
Beshara Trust. 4. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society. 5. Philosophy,
Islamic. 6. Mysticism--Islam. I. Title.
B753.I24J44 2010
181'.92--dc22
2009026245

ISBN 978-1-84553-670-1 (hardback)
978-1-84553-671-8 (paperback)

Typeset and edited by Forthcoming Publications Ltd
www.forthcomingpublications.com

Printed and bound in the UK by the MPG Books Group
CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ix

INTRODUCTION 1
The Life of Ibn ‘Arabi in Brief 2
Ibn ‘Arabi’s In(cid:3)uence in the West Today 5
Further Studies of Western Su(cid:2) Movements 14
Disciplinary and Methodological Approach to the Study 18
Religious Experience and Mysticism 20
Problems with the ‘Language’ of Mysticism 23
Universality and Particularity in Religion 25
Research Methods and Data 26
Structure and Contents of the Chapters 31
Note on Transliteration and Transcription 34

1 BULENT RAUF 35
Early Life 35
Bulent Rauf and Ibn ‘Arabi 36
The Beginnings of Beshara 42
Bulent Rauf’s Writings and Translations 46
Bulent Rauf and the ‘Hidden Saints’ 46
Posterity 51
Conclusion 53

2 THE BESHARA TRUST: EARLY YEARS 54
Bulent Rauf and the Origins of Beshara 54
Swyre Farm 58
The Twenty-Nine Pages: Teaching Ibn ‘Arabi
at Swyre Farm 60
Early Students of Beshara and Swyre Farm 63
Bulent Rauf in Residence at Swyre Farm 65
The Blue Fusûs and Titus Burckhardt 66
J.G. Bennett and the Beshara School 68

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vi Contents
3 CHISHOLME AND SHERBORNE: THE INTRODUCTION
OF STRUCTURED, RESIDENTIAL COURSES 74
The Acquisition of Chisholme and Sherborne 74
The Introduction and Purpose of a Structured
Residential Course 77
Course Schedule 79
Basic Rules of Behaviour 86
Course Supervision 86
Organisation and Funding 87
Conclusion 88

4 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTS AND TEACHINGS
OF IBN ‘ARABI USED FOR STUDY BY THE BESHARA SCHOOL 89
The Twenty-Nine Pages: An Introduction
to Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Unity 90
Ontology and Cosmology 92
Doctrine of the Logos 99
Epistemology 102
Mystical and Metaphysical Psychology 104
Mysticism 106
Religion, Ethics and Aesthetics 108
The Figure of Jesus and the ‘Seal of Sainthood’ 111
Ibn ‘Arabi and the Feminine Dimension in the Divine 114
Other Texts Used on Beshara Courses 116
Conclusion 126

5 RECENT BESHARA EDUCATION:
THE COURSES AND THEIR AIMS 128
The Meanings of ‘Beshara’ as Understood
by Some Participants 128
Beshara as a Global Manifestation 130
Ibn ‘Arabi and the ‘Seal of Sainthood’
as a ‘Meaning’ (Spiritual Reality) 132
The Aims of the Beshara Courses 135
What is an ‘Esoteric Education’? 139
Conclusion 141

6 STUDENT EXPERIENCES DURING
AND FOLLOWING THE COURSES 142
Motivations for Taking the Intensive
Six-month Introductory Course 143

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Contents vii
‘Second-generation’ Students 145
Some Students’ Experiences of the Courses 147
Life After a Beshara Course:
Applying Course Experience to Everyday Life 160
Conclusion 175

7 THE PILGRIMAGE THROUGH TURKEY 176
The Purpose of the Pilgrimage 176
The In(cid:3)uence of Ibn ‘Arabi and its
Relevance to the Journey 178
The Shrines Visited and their Connection with Ibn ‘Arabi 181
Other Islamic, Christian and Hellenistic Sites Visited
and their Connection with Ibn ‘Arabi 182
The Travellers 183
Itinerary of the Journey 185
Visitation (ziyâra) of the Shrines of Muslim Saints 186
The Travellers’ Reactions to the Visits 192
Conclusion 202

8 OUTREACH 205
Publications and Publicity 205
Communication and Outreach 217
Other Methods of Outreach and Communication
Continuing into the 1980s 220
International Expansion 223
Beshara Today 226

9 THE MUHYIDDIN IBN ‘ARABI SOCIETY 231
Introduction 231
Foundation Period 234
Early Days: The Library at Concordia House 237
The Development of the Journal 240
1984 Onwards: The First Annual Symposium 243
The Evolution of the Society through the 1980s
to the Early 1990s 248
The Society through the 1990s to the New Millennium 254
The Global Expansion of Knowledge of Ibn ‘Arabi 258
Conclusion 261

Bibliography 267
Index 277
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor James
Morris, for all his help and guidance to me through the duration of this
study; also to Professor Alexander Knysh who set me on the path of this
research. To the students of the Beshara School and the members of the
Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society who have been so freely and kindly
prepared to co-operate with me in many aspects of data collection. In
particular I would like to thank the chairman of the Muhyiddin Ibn
‘Arabi Society, Grenville Collins, for his ongoing encouragement and
support; Richard and Cecilia Twinch for putting up with my perpetual
onslaught of enquiries; Martin and Caroline Notcutt; Jane Clark, her late
husband Robert1 and Stephen Hirtenstein all who provided invaluable
advice and guidance. The Principal of the Beshara School at Chisholme,
Peter Young, was a continuous source of help, information and enlight-
enment and I would not have made much progress without the gracious
assistance of Peter Yiangou and his wife Alison. There are numerous
other people to whom I feel deep appreciation for their particular help
during my research. These include Abraham and Lesley Abadi; Christina
Hill; Sara Hirtenstein; Daniel Hirtenstein; Francis and Christopher Ryan;
Stuart and Rahima Kenner; Narda Dalgliesh; Adam Dupré; and Meral
Arim. It also was a very great privilege to have met and to have had
lively and informative discussion with Angela Culme-Seymore, wife of
the late Bulent Rauf. Another particularly supportive figure has been
Mhairi Macmillan. I would also like to express profound appreciation to
Professor Ralph Austin whose fascinating themes of conversation dur-
ing the Annual British Muhyiddin Ibn ’Arabi Society Symposium, held
to celebrate the millennium in 2000 at Chisholme House, included
startlingly accurate prophesies. A special mention must go to Paul
Auchterlanie, head librarian at the University of Exeter, without whose
help and steerage this work would never have got off the ground and
who has provided ongoing support throughout.

1. Sadly, Robert Clark died on the 1 January 2003.

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