Another Road to Damascus

This text challenges existing writing on ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī which divides his life into two juxtaposed phases separated by narratives of conversion: from Francophobia to Francophilia, from militarism to pacifism, from activism to quietism, from Islamism to pluralism, from politics to religion. This work's interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that these narratives cannot be sustained in light of the evidence. Rather, they can be shown to originate in specific historical, cultural, and methodological tendencies within western societies and academies. Drawing on primary materials including archival documents and selections from his own writing, it constructively critiques his reception in the literature while advancing a continuous and contextualised account of his life and ideas. These include the relating of his ethico-religious and jurisprudential concerns to his political decision-making, and a resituating of his mystical writings within a definite moral, epistemological, and political context. By problematising these interpretive issues, this thesis aims at opening new avenues for understanding even as it offers its own solutions. In so doing, this study contributes to discussions on Sufism, political Islam, and east-west relations.

This monograph has been awarded the annual BRAIS – De Gruyter Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World.

"The study throws new light on this character's intentions, ambitions, and limitations ... it offers a re-evaluation of his life that integrates the various facets and stages of his career, resulting in ' a more conventional, more conservative, more human figure' of the man."
Zahia Smail Salhi in: British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2019): 684-685 (https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1627049)

"Woerner-Powell ist eines der unverzichtbaren Referenzwerke, wenn es darum geht, etwas über ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāˀirī zu schreiben."
Rüdiger Lohlker in: Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 108 (2018): 459-460

"Another Road to Damascus is a well-written, accessible, and overall compelling account of ʿAbd al-Qādir’s life and deeds. It is an excellent introductory and reference work for the classroom that also raises intriguing questions about entanglements between political interests and historical scholarship in appraising the life of a prominent individual. [...] undoubtedly the most accomplished biography of ʿAbd al-Qādir to date.

Ulrich Brandenburg in: Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques (2022): 171-174
(https://doi.org/10.1515/asia-2022-0015)