This workshop explores the (im)possibility of alternative (liberatory) ecologies of Islamicate cosmologies, particularly mysticism, in transforming humanity’s relationship with the environment against Modernity’s ecological crisis. This workshop presents a theoretical contribution to explore anti-anthropocentric possibilities inspired by the worldview of Irfan as an Islamicate episteme and praxis. It attempts to move beyond the material and logos-centric by drawing on the affective, embodied, and experiential as serious sites of thinking ecology ‘otherwise.’ Together, we will explore: How are alternatives sought? What can we do about it? Should we start unearthing lost and erased memories, practices, and modalities? And can mystical paradigms offer alternatives to Modernity's developmentalist models?
Baqer holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from the American University of Beirut and an MA in ‘Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies’ from University College London. Upon graduating, Baqer returned to Beirut, Lebanon to pursue a career in research and consulting. By exploring issues of social justice within the Global South(s) and alongside the Arab regions erased heritage, Baqer mainly focuses on cultivating and harboring generative sites of thinking liberatory alternatives.
