{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Iranian Studies","slug":"new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694","podcast_index_feed_id":6707694,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/NBNK4310987155","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/009720be-8e2e-11ee-8bc9-6bbc6420e78e/image/32ca5502b9ad911a9e8d05d229de3bef.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":120,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T18:17:45.742387+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694"},"episode":{"title":"Cyrus Ali Zargar, \"Religion of Love: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ʿaṭṭār\" (SUNY Press, 2024)","slug":"cyrus-ali-zargar-religion-of-love-sufism-and-self-transformation-in-the-poetic-imagination-of-a-r-suny-press-2024","published_at":"2024-08-21T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694/cyrus-ali-zargar-religion-of-love-sufism-and-self-transformation-in-the-poetic-imagination-of-a-r-suny-press-2024","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK5803559614.mp3?updated=1724250377","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK5803559614.mp3?updated=1724250377","summary":"Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s writings have greatly influenced Persian Sufism, but what do we know of him as a thinker? Engaging his diverse writings from poetry to stories, Cyrus Ali Zargar’s Religion of Live: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ‘Attar (SUNY Press, 2024) captures for us some of ‘Attar’s worldviews, especially as it is rooted in a Persian and Muslim historical context. The book gives us insights to ‘Attar’s take on moral psychology, ethics, and intellectual debates he was responding to, such as with philosophers and legal scholars. Zargar captures ‘Attar’s religion of love, which takes us to the edge of infidelity and at times even crosses its threshold only to better understand the experience of union with the Beloved (Divine) that mystics have discussed across traditions. This book will be of interest to listeners who are curious about Persian literature, Sufism, Islamic philosophy and mysticism generally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s writings have greatly influenced Persian Sufism, but what do we know of him as a thinker? Engaging his diverse writings from poetry…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3358,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694/episodes/cyrus-ali-zargar-religion-of-love-sufism-and-self-transformation-in-the-poetic-imagination-of-a-r-suny-press-2024/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-iranian-studies-6707694/cyrus-ali-zargar-religion-of-love-sufism-and-self-transformation-in-the-poetic-imagination-of-a-r-suny-press-2024.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}