The Contemporary Influences of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi in the West: The Beshara School and the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society

Abstract

In the past 150 years or so, there has been a notable expansion of influence and diffusion of Eastern religious ideas into a Western setting where they have been adopted and adapted to suit this new context. At the outset this happened principally with Hindu and Buddhist teachings but more recently there has been a subtle infusion of Islamic influence especially through Sufi belief and practices. A prime example of this has been through the teachings of the twelfth century Andalusian Muslim mystic, Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi. How his teachings have been filtering into and adapted for a Western audience through a selected group of admirers has been the focus of my recent doctoral thesis. This article will commence with a discussion of the broad contextual framework that was required for the study, followed by a summary of the highlights of the research and its outcomes.