I got my Th.D. in the history of religions from Uppsala University in 2007. I have been working at Dalarna University since 1996, where I am presently associate professor in religious studies.
My research mainly concerns the early history of Islam with emphasis on the formative period of Shi`ism. At present, I am working with a three year research project on this subject, financed by Riksbankens jubileumsfond until 2022. I have also written about theoretical issues within the history of religions and the didactics of religion, and I have been involved in a project about the work against violent extremism in Sweden.
Research projects
Publications
- . Emerging Patterns of Authority in Early Shiʿism : Mukhtar’s Use of the Aesthetics of Persuasion, Shii Studies Review, 2019, Vol. 3, 1-32. Article : refereed.
- . Mukhtār and the Mahdī : a critical inquiry into the sources, DIN - Tidsskrift for religion og kultur, 2018, No. 1, 138-157. Article : refereed.
- . Myth, ritual, and the early development of Shiite identity, Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 2018, Vol. 6, No. 3. Article : refereed.
- . Att lägga rälsen medan man kör : En utvärdering av kunskapshusens arbete i fyra pilotkommuner - Örebro, Göteborg, Borlänge och Stockholm, Interkulturellt utvecklingscentrum Dalarna (IKUD), 2017. Report.
- . The Date of the Story of the Tawwābūn, Studia Islamica, 2017, Vol. 112, No. 2, 175-205. Article : refereed.
- . Al-Mukhtār and the Aesthetics of Persuasion, 2017. Conference paper : refereed.
- . Dating versions of the Karbala' Story, "Shii Studies: State of the Art." International Conference held at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ (December 7‐9, 2017) : 2017. Conference paper : refereed.
- . The hand of God is over their hands (Q. 48:10) : on the notion of covenant in al-Ṭabarī’s account of Karbalāʾ, Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2016, Vol. 18, No. 2, 58-88. Article : refereed.
- . Myth, ritual and the early development of Shīʿite identity, 2015. Conference paper : refereed.
- . Shiitisk islam i vardande : Myt, rit och identitet, Part of: Kultur och lärande, Högskolan Dalarna, 2015. Chapter of book.
- . Closed and open concepts of religion : The problem of essentialism in teaching about religion, Part of: Textbook Gods, Equinox Publishing, 2014. Chapter of book.
- . New Meanings to Old Rituals : The Emergence of Mourning Rituals in Shiʿite Islam, 2014. Conference paper : refereed.
- . 'Conversion' and 'Religion' : Two Troublesome Concepts in the Study of Islam in Africa, 2013. Conference paper.
- . Essentialism in religious education : Some reflections on a didactical problem, 2012. Conference paper : refereed.
- . Essentialism i religionsundervisningen : Ett religionsdidaktiskt problem, Nordidactica - Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 2012, No. 2, 106-137. Article : refereed.
- . Revenge or Martyrdom! : The Story of the Penitents as a Link to the Early Development of Shi'ism, 2012. Conference paper : refereed.
- . Praying Aloud or in Silence? : On Conceptual Blending and Emotions in the Analysis of Rituals, Religion, a Human Phenomenon: Xxth World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions : 2011. Conference paper.
- . Berätta om Husayns död så att jag tror att jag var där, Part of: Perspektiv på islam, Dialogos, 2011. Chapter of book.
- . Myter, Part of: Forskning i Halmstad, Högskolan i Halmstad, 2010. Chapter of book.
- . A Structuralist Reading of the Karbala Drama, 2007. Conference paper : refereed.
- . An attempt at structural analysis of the Karbala drama according to al-Tabari, Part of: Historia religionum, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2007. Chapter of book.
- . Husayn, the Mediator : A Structural Analysis of the Karbala Drama according to Abu Ja´far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310/923), Uppsala University, 2007. Doctoral thesis.
- . Är Kerbela-dramat en myt?, Part of: Religionshistoriska forskningsrapporter från Uppsala, Teologiska institutionen, Uppsala Universitet, 1997. Chapter of book.
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