Academics Amer Latif - Religion

When he left his home in Islamabad, Pakistan, Amer Latif hoped to find some answers to his many questions about the universe in science. But by the time he graduated with a degree in physics from Bard College, Amer knew that the answers to his questions—and often the questions themselves—transcended science. His liberal arts education had allowed other questions to surface: "questions of beauty and meaning," he says. He found himself driven by a desire to know the deeper significance of things in addition to the measurement of them. "The first place I found that did not shy away from these questions was in the writings of Rumi," says Amer.

Teaching Philosophy

Amer feels that religious studies can be viewed much like learning a language. Religion is expressed through the languages of myth, ritual and symbol. "These languages give a structure to one’s thoughts and provide categories that shape one’s perception and experience of the world." Amer’s goal is to allow students to understand and enter the conceptual universe of different religions through the combined use of art, literature, ethnography and historical studies. "For me, knowledge is one," says Amer. "There are ways of making sense of things, and how they relate to each other, in a unified vision; that appeals to me."

Student Plans and other Collaborations

Grant-supported travel to Turkey to learn about Sufi musical practice, including observing Zhikr and Sema ceremonies and interviewing teachers and musicians. Mike Harrist '10, music and religion.
A study of spirituality and physicality drawing on modern dance and Islam, including choreographic work exploring inward experience and outward expression. Amity Jones '10, dance and religion.
An exploration of the themes of suffering, healing and social construction of reality as depicted in the biblical book of Job and in the poetry of Rumi. Mary Coventry '10, religion.
A study of how one's Christian beliefs affect one's social interactions and understanding of suffering, including an internship in an orphanage in Mexico. Ryan Dolan '09, religion and political science.

Scholarly Activities

Amer completed his doctoral degree at Stony Brook University in 2009, with a dissertation examining the interpretations of the Qur'anic narratives of Pharaoh by Rumi—the 13th-century Muslim scholar and mystic. "What interests me is how some people are able to move from one system of 'signs' to another," says Amer, who is working on turning his dissertation into a book. "Rumi is like a translator. He takes stories of Pharoah and Moses in the Qur'an, and tells people that this is something that is happening right within you." Amer's work also involves translating texts from Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Turkish.

Selected Publications

"The performance of perplexity: A Sufi approach to the paradoxes of monotheism." The Muslim World, 97 (4): 611-625, October 2007

Selected Conference Papers

"Unending patterns: Rumi's interpretation of Qur'anic stories." American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Chicago 2008.
"Narrative criticism and Qur'anic discourse: The case of Pharoah." Colby Sawyer College, 2007.
"Mithl and Mithal: Rumi's use of images and analogies in interpreting the Qur'an." Cambridge University, England, 2006.
"Jalaluddin Rumi's interpretations of the Qur'anic story of Moses and Pharoah." Journal of Qur'anic Studies biennial conference, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, England, 2005.
"Mercy in literalness: Ibn al-Arabi's Qur'anic hermeneutics," American Academy of Religion annual meeting, San Antonio, Texas, 2004.
"Unity in the Qur'an: A literary critical perspective." Society for the Anthropological Study of Religion, Providence, Rhode Island, 2003.

B.A., Bard College, 1995; Ph.D. SUNY-Stony Brook, 2009; Marlboro College, 2003–