Cyrus Ali Zargar

Cyrus Ali Zargar, Ph.D., is the Endowed Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He is affiliated with The India Center and the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs. His research focuses on Classical Sufism, Islamic Philosophy, Arabic and Persian Sufi Literature, and Ethics in Literature and Film.

Dr. Zargar earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008. He is currently completing a book titled *Religion of Love: Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār (d. 1221) and the Sufi Tradition*, analyzing Sufi poetic symbolism. His 2017 publication, *The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism*, explores ethical narratives in Islamic thought.

His work bridges literary analysis, philosophical inquiry, and religious studies, emphasizing the intersection of spirituality and artistic expression in Islamic traditions.