Ivan Aguéli: The Pearl upon the Crown

By Oliver Fotros

IVAN AGU?LI - The Pioneer of Sufism in the West

Ivan Agu?li or Shaykh Abdul H?di Aqh?li (1869-1917) was a Swedish Sufi and artistwho was a pioneer in the introduction of Sufism to the West. Born in the small Swedish town of Sala in 1869, Agu?li moved to Paris in his youth where he converted to Islam in 1898.

Travelling to Ceylon and India, Agu?li finally settled in Egypt in 1902 where he was initiated into the Shadiliyyah Sufi order by the renowned Shaykh Elish el Kabir. Returning to Europe in 1909 as Elish's representative, he began teaching the universalist Sufi doctrine of Muhyeddin Ibn Arabi.

In 1910 Agu?li moved back to Paris where he learnt to know the young editor Ren?Gu?non. Becoming good friends, Agu?li received Gu?non into Islam and Sufism in1911. Shortly after, Agu?li departed for Sweden and the two never met again. During the First World War, Agu?li was exiled from Egypt to Spain, where he perished under tragic circumstances. Gu?non, however, went on to become an intellectual of global renown and a leading scholar of the Philosophia Perennis.

So far, biographers and scholars have only attributed Ivan Agu?li a peripheral role in the life and works of Ren? Gu?non - but what if his influence was far greater than what has hitherto been acknowledged?

In this unparalleled study, the scholar Oliver Fotros explores the profound influence of Ivan Agu?li on the works and ideas of Ren? Gu?non. By examining Agu?li's original articles and letters in French, Swedish and Arabic, Fotros proceeds to decipher the texts of Gu?non - which uncovers facts that have been well concealed for over a century. The result offers a new perspective on one of France's greatest intellectuals and a fascinating account of friendship, intrigue, and ambition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 915198508X
• ISBN13: 9789151985084
• Release Date: February 2021
• Publisher: Oliver Fotros
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"