Shahzad Bashir Books [Ad-Free]
4. A New Vision for Islamic Past: "A New History of the Islamic World" Series
It unpacks complex esoteric doctrines, making them accessible to modern readers interested in heterodox Islamic movements of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Available through the University of South Carolina Press . 2. Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis (2005) shahzad bashir books
A second major theme in Bashir’s oeuvre is time. In articles such as “On Islamic Time: Rethinking the Present through the Eschaton” (2014), Bashir challenges linear, progressive models of Islamic history. He argues that messianic movements produce a “now-time” (Jetztzeit) in which past prophecies and future redemption collapse into a revolutionary present. For Bashir, the Hurufi belief that the cosmos had entered its final age—an age of hidden letters and unveiled faces—was not a delusion but a performative historiography that reshaped collective action.
Despite the density, his impact is undeniable. He argues that messianic movements produce a “now-time”
2. Sufi Bodies: Religion and Society in Medieval Islam (2011)
Focusing on the Persianate societies of Iran and Central Asia between 1300 and 1500 C.E., Bashir weaves a rich history around the depiction of bodily actions by Sufi masters and disciples. He draws on an impressive array of sources, including Sufi literature and, most innovatively, Persian miniature paintings of the period. Through this visual and literary evidence, Bashir explores how medieval Sufis conceived of the body as the primary shuttle between interior ( batin ) and exterior ( zahir ) realities. analyses of bodily performance in Sufism
. His books often challenge traditional linear narratives of history, exploring themes of Sufism, messianic movements, and the concept of time in Islamic thought. Core Scholarly Monographs
offer a revolutionary re-examination of Islamic history, mysticism, and cultural expression across the Persianate world . As a leading scholar of Islamic humanities and the current Dean of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations at Aga Khan University, Dr. Bashir has spent decades dismantling Eurocentric and linear historical narratives. His bibliography spans meticulous historical reconstructions of medieval messianic movements, analyses of bodily performance in Sufism, and cutting-edge digital monographs that challenge the concept of time itself.
The project's goal is to "decenter Islam" from a purely Middle Eastern identity, from articulation through men's authority alone, and from the assumption that premodern expressions are more authentic than modern ones. It discusses Islam "as phenomenon and as discourse," observed everywhere from the built environment to material objects, paintings, linguistic traces, and films.
Bashir’s most recent publications show his continued evolution, embracing new media and tackling grand historical questions with fresh analytical frameworks.