Abstract
Commonly taken to be based upon the metaphysics of the Andalusian Sufi Ibn ʿArabī (d. 1240), Frithjof Schuon’s Perennialist doctrine of “the transcendent unity of religions” posits a timeless truth underlying all so-called orthodox religious forms. Yet this article argues that rather than a transhistorical message of inclusive unity, Schuon’s Perennialism is a hegemonic discourse of authenticity built upon presuppositions founded within what Léon Poliakov famously dubbed the nineteenth-century “Aryan myth.” The extent to which Schuon decouples Ibn ʿArabī from so-called Semitic subjectivism, thus finding in him a primordial Aryan objectivity, is the extent to which Schuon claims him to be an enlightened representative of Islam and authentic purveyor of thereligio perennis.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.