About Green Knight Multimedia

❛❛The best way of encapsulating the central motif, the particular constellation of ideas that motivated the production of this company, and the philosophy underlying this project, is the following quotation from one of our great teachers, Dr. Martin Lings, otherwise known as Shaykh Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, who died in 2005 at the age of 96; “Our aim is to express some of the universal truths which lie at the heart of all religions”, quoted from the preface of his book The Book of Certainty.

Part of our aim and part of what drives us is to try to re-present the legacy of Dr. Lings and thereby the Perennial Philosophy in the English language, with the emphasis on audio access. We want people to be able to hear themes of perennial philosophy, comparative religion, and the deeper aspect of the mystical path in the traditions and to do this in a way that will be accessible on the internet through the spoken word, with the emphasis on going back to Tradition. In a certain way this new medium can be used as a postmodern tool to actually go back to the premodern realities, to traditional realities and to traditional ways of expressing the wonderful truths of Tradition that has been given to all of us by the Almighty through all of our traditions and cultures.❜❜

From Reza Shah-Kazemi’s speech at the Lauch of Green Knight Multimedia, Wells, Somerset, August 15,2020.

Directors:

 

REZA SHAH-KAZEMI

Reza Shah-Kazemi is an author in the fields of Islamic studies and Comparative Religion. He obtained a Ph.D in Comparative Religion from the University of Kent.  He is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, and has been involved in important interfaith initiatives for the last two decades. He has edited, translated and written numerous books and articles, including The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam and the award-winning  Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali. His first book, Paths to Transcendence according to Shankara, Ibn Arabi & Meister Eckhart, was heralded by Professor James Cutsinger as an “irreplaceable, meticulous and far reaching study”; was praised by professor Patrick Laude as “a major landmark in comparative metaphysics”; and described by Martin Lings as “an important book in the school of Sophia Perennis“. Charles LeGai Eaton described Shah-Kazemi’s The Other in the Light of the One: Qur’anic Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue, as “a pioneering masterpiece”.  His book, Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism, was launched by HH The Dalai Lama, who described the work as “pioneering” in his Preface to the book.

QUALIFICATIONS

1989-1994:     Kent University: PhD in Comparative Religion.
1984-1985:     Exeter University: MA in Politics: Distinction
1979-1984:     Sussex University: BA Honours in International Relations: 1st Class

PUBLICATIONS

  • Seeing God Everywhere: Qur’anic Perspectives on the Sanctity of Virgin Nature (Cambridge: The Muslim Academic Trust, 2021).
  • Imam ‘Ali: From Concise History to Timeless Mystery (London: The Matheson Trust, 2019).
  • A Muslim Perspective on Christian Mysteries: The Incarnation and the Crucifixion (Edmonton: Chester Ronning Centre, 2015).
  • The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam (London: I.B. Tauris, 2012).
  • Spiritual Quest: Reflections on Qur’anic Prayer according to the teachings of Imam ‘Ali (London: I.B. Tauris, 2011).
  • Common Ground between Islam and Buddhism (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2010) (Translated into French, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay).
  • My Mercy Encompasses All—The Koran’s Teachings on Compassion, Peace and Love (Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker and Hoard, 2007) (Translated into French).
  • Paths to Transcendence—According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart  (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom Books, 2006) (Translated into French).
  • Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali (London: IB Tauris/Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2006) (Translated into Arabic, Persian and Portugese).
  • The Other in the Light of the One: The Universality of the Qur’an and Interfaith Dialogue (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 2006).
  • Crisis in Chechnia: Russian Imperialism, Chechen Nationalism and Militant Sufism (London: Islamic World Report, 1995).
  • Avicenna: Prince of Physicians (London: Hood Hood Books, 1997).

TRANSLATIONS

Doctrines of Shi’i Islam (Manshūr-i ‘Aqā’id-i Imāmiyya, by Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani) [annotated translation from the Persian] (London: IB Tauris/Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2001). 

EDITED VOLUMES

  • Encyclopaedia Islamica, vol. 5 (Leiden: Brill and Institute of Ismaili Studies 2015) (Managing Editor). Editors-in-chief: W. Madelung, F. Daftary.
  • Encyclopaedia Islamica, vol. 4 (Leiden: Brill and Institute of Ismaili Studies 2013) (Managing Editor). Editors-in-chief: W. Madelung, F. Daftary.
  • Encyclopaedia Islamica, vol. 3 (Leiden: Brill and Institute of Ismaili Studies 2011) (Managing Editor). Editors-in-chief: W. Madelung, F. Daftary.
  • Encyclopaedia Islamica, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill and Institute of Ismaili Studies 2009) (Managing Editor). Editors-in-chief: W. Madelung, F. Daftary.
  • Encyclopaedia Islamica, vol.1 (Leiden: Brill and Institute of Ismaili Studies 2008) (Managing Editor). Editors-in-chief: W. Madelung, F. Daftary.
  • Algeria: Revolution Revisited  (London: Islamic World Report, 1997).
  • Turkey: The Pendulum Swings Back  (London: Islamic World Report, 1996).
  • Bosnia: Destruction of a Nation, Inversion of a Principle (London: Islamic World Report, 1996).

FORTHCOMING

  • Muslim Perspectives on Christian Mysteries: Trinity, Incarnation and Crucifixion
  • A Blessed Peacemaker: Imam Ali and the Inner Paths of Sunni-Shia Unity

 AWARDS/PRIZES

  • Book of the Year on Walaya (Kitab-i Sal-i Vilayat): prize awarded for Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali, November 2007.
  • International Book Award (Jayazeh-yi Jahani): prize awarded for Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali, February 2008.

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ABDU GAZZAR

As a lover of Sophia Perennis, Abdu delves into Eastern and Western traditions seeking the Principle that transcends one’s culture and religious forms, and that which lies at the heart of all traditions. Inspired by contemporary perennialists such as René Guenon, Fritjof Schuon, Martin Lings, James Cutsinger, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, he found in the Green Knight Multimedia a vehicle to express and manifest their work through the spoken word. Hence, when Dr Reza asked him to join the GKM project he accepted without hesitation and was happy to be part of this journey.