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Said Sarmad the Jewish Saint

Religions of the Silk Road Lecture by Nahid Pirnazar, UCLA Near Eastern Languages & Cultures

Tuesday, February 05, 2013
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
10383 Bunche Hall

Mohammad Said Sarmad was born in approximately 1590 C.E. into a Jewish family of Rabbis in Kashan, Iran. He converted to Islam in 1615 and moved to India at about the age of forty. Sarmad along with his disciple, who was originally a Hindu, led a solitary life in India. At about the age of seventy (1660-62), he was accused of blasphemy and decapitated in front of the Jame' Mosque in Delhi. The background of Sarmad’s time, both in Iran and India, sheds light on his motivation to convert, spiritual life style and the manner of his death.
 

Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, Program on Central Asia, Center for the Study of Religion