Carl W. Ernst (born September 8, 1950, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

at the Department of Religious Studies at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. He was also the founding director (2003-2022) of the UNC Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies.Carl Ernst's web page
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Life

Ernst received his A.B. in comparative religion at Stanford University in 1973, and his Ph.D. at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1981. He taught at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

from 1981 to 1992.''Contemporary Authors'', Vol. 163, p. 132. He was a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1992 to 2022. It was his suggestion that set in motion the UNC-Qur'an Controversy in 2002, when UNC's Summer Reading Program required incoming students to read .

Awards and Honors

Ernst's book, '' Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World'' (UNC Press, 2003), received several international awards, including the 2004 Bashrahil Prize for Outstanding Cultural Achievement. His book Ruzbihan Baqli: Mysticism and the Rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian Sufism won the Farabi Award. His translation from the Arabic, Hallaj: Poems of a Sufi Martyr, was supported by a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and it was the first recipient (2017) of the Global Humanities Translation Prize from the Buffett Institute at Northwestern University. Ernst has received several Fulbright fellowships (India, 1978-9; Pakistan, 1986; Spain,2001; Malaysia, 2005), plus grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also been a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (1990, 2003, 2019, 2022).

Bibliography

* ''Refractions of Islam in India: Situating Sufism and Yoga'', SAGE Publications India. (2016) *
Islamophobia in America The Anatomy of Intolerance
',

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

(2013, editor) *''How to Read the Qur'an: A New Guide, with Select Translations'', University of North Carolina Press. (2011) *'' Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World'', University of North Carolina Press. (2003) *''Sufi Martyrs of Love: Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond'' (co-authored with Bruce Lawrence) (2002) *''Teachings of Sufism'' (1999) *A translation of ''The Unveiling of Secrets: Diary of a Sufi Master'' by

Ruzbihan Baqli Abu Muhammad Sheikh Ruzbehan Baqli (1128–1209) was a Persian poet, mystic, teacher and sufi master. He wrote about his own life as well as published commentaries on Sufi poets and ideas. Baqli's most renowned work was his autobiography ''U ...

(1997) *''The Shambhala Guide to Sufism'' (1997) *'' Ruzbihan Baqli: Mysticism and the Rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian Sufism'' (1996) *''Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center'' (1993) *''Words of Ecstasy in Sufism'' (1985)

References

External links

Carl Ernst's web page

Audio recording
of a talk by Carl Ernst given at the University of Chicago. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Carl Living people American Islamic studies scholars Stanford University alumni 1950 births Harvard University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Place of birth missing (living people) Pomona College faculty Distinguished professors in the United States