Biography
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 What bridges exist between Christianity and Islam?


William C. Chittick is a professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. Among his publications are The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi (1983), The Psalms of Islam (1988), The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-`Arabî's Cosmology (1998), Sufism: A Short Introduction (2000), and The Heart of Islamic Philosophy: The Quest for Self-Knowledge in the Teachings of Afdal al-Dîn Kâshânî (2001). He is also the author of The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi: Illustrated Edition which was published by World Wisdom in 2005.

Professor Chittick is one the world’s leading translators and interpreters of the mystical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi. He is also recognized for his translation and interpretation of the writings of the great Sufi theorist and poet, Ibn Arabi.

Drawing mainly from the writings of the thirteenth century Sufi Ibn Arabi, at the "Paths to the Heart" Conference in South Carolina on October 18-20, 2001, Professor Chittick presented a lecture, “On the Cosmology of Dhikr”, which can be found in Paths to the Heart, which is part of World Wisdom's Perennial Philosophy series. This article investigates the role of the divine names in the creation of the universe and the role of human beings in perfecting the world by remembering God.