Memoirs of a Dervish

Front Cover
Profile Books, 2011 - Biography & Autobiography - 239 pages

"This is a brilliant, free-ranging, mind-enhancing, life-cautioning book."--The Independent

In the summer of 1964 Robert Irwin set off for Algeria in search of Sufi enlightenment. There he entered a world of marvels and ecstasy, converted to Islam, and received an initiation as afaqir. He learnt the rituals of Islam in North Africa and he studied Arabic in London.

Political violence, torture, rock music, drugs, Oxbridge intellectuals, first love, and losses are all part of this story from the 1960s.

Robert Irwin is one of the best known writers on the history and culture of the Islamic world.

About the author (2011)

Robert Irwin is a novelist, publisher, reviewer, Arabist and historian. He was formerly a lecturer in the Department of Mediaeval History in the University of St Andrews and he is currently a Senior Research Associate of the History Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. He has published seventeen books, of which six are novels. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Memoirs of a Dervish is published by Profile in 2011.

Bibliographic information

TitleMemoirs of a Dervish
Memoirs of a Dervish, Robert Irwin
AuthorRobert Irwin
Editionillustrated
PublisherProfile Books, 2011
ISBN1861979916, 9781861979919
Length239 pages
Subjects ›  ›  › 

Biography & Autobiography / Memoirs
History / Modern / 20th Century / General
History / Social History
Religion / Islam / Sufi
Social Science / Customs & Traditions
Social Science / Islamic Studies
Travel / Africa / North / General
  
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