Cyrus Ali Zargar (Ph.D. UC Berkeley) is the Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida, and also Director of Research at the Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies. A leading scholar of Sufism, his research explores the intersections of literature, ethics, and metaphysics in Arabic and Persian traditions. He has lectured widely across North America and internationally, and his work has been reviewed widely and recognized by major funding institutions, including the Gerda Henkel Stiftung and the Persian Heritage Foundation.
Professor Zargar’s latest book, Religion of Love: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ʿAṭṭār (SUNY Press, 2024), examines the symbolic and ethical dimensions of Sufi poetry through the written legacy of the Persian poet Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār. His previous works, including The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism (Oneworld, 2017) and Sufi Aesthetics: Beauty, Love, and the Human Form in the Writings of Ibn ʿArabi and ʿIraqi (University of South Carolina Press, 2011), have been translated into multiple languages and are widely cited in Islamic studies, religious studies, and comparative philosophy.
In addition to his scholarship, Professor Zargar serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Sufi Studies (Brill), as well as Co-Editor of the book series Studies in Islamic Thought and the journal Islamic Intellectual Traditions (Brill). He is actively engaged in projects that bring classical Islamic thought into conversation with contemporary philosophical and ethical debates. His forthcoming book, under contract with University of California Press, explores the nature of meaning and revealed language in Islamic thought.
