We talk to Professor Teren Sevea, scholar of Islam and Muslim societies in South and Southeast Asia, about the importance of Southeast Asia and the broader Indian Ocean world to Islamic studies and why the region has been treated as peripheral in the field despite its large Muslim populations. We also discuss his recent book,
Miracles and Material Life: Rice, Ore, Traps, and Guns in Islamic Malaya (2020), a study of miracle-working traditions recorded through Jawi (a modified Arabic script used to write Malay and other languages) manuscripts. Through his use of manuscripts, ethnography, and technologies such as GIS, Professor Sevea's research is shedding light on the world of miracle workers who, despite being key actors in Southeast Asian Islam, have often been dismissed by scholars, Islamic reformers, Sufis, and others alike.
Teren Sevea joined the Faculty of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School in 2020 as Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and was appointed Alwaleed bin Talal Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies in 2021. He is the co-coordinator of a multimedia project called, “The Lighthouses of God: Mapping Sanctity Across the Indian Ocean,” which investigates the evolving landscapes of Indian Ocean Islam through photography, film, and GIS technology.
