Danshmand

Danshmand, or “the scholar of scholars”, is the fictionalised biography of the renowned Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, who surpassed his contemporaries to become the greatest imam and scholar of his age. Although based on historical facts, the novel rejects commonly held stereotypes. It shows Al-Ghazali’s human vulnerability, as he faces various anxieties, political strife, sectarian rivalries, and conspiracies in the palace, where an enemy as lethal as the Frankish Crusaders lies in wait. Danshmand brings to life the figure of a scholar from the Arab collective memory to ask questions relative to the present moment, underlining the value of knowledge as a path to salvation: is there another way to get closer to God, other than through striving and silence? Who will revive religious sciences when everyone thinks they can now try their hand at them?