On July 31st, 2026, an excellent review was published by Church Times regarding the book, The Many Faces of Christianism: The ‘Russian World’ in Europe. This exceptional and most timely book was edited by Marietta van der Tol, Sophia R.C. Johnson, Petr KratochvÃl, and Zoran Grozdanov, and published by Brill. The reviewer, Rev. Alexander Faludy, was especially gracious regarding my chapter, which along with Veronica Cibotaru’s chapter, he called the “book’s conceptual heart.” Read the full review below and buy yourself a copy!
On July 8-10, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted a conference at Marmara University. The conference was entitled, “Critical Social Theory in a time of Global Uncertainty.” I gave two presentations, one on the political-psychological dynamics of Donald Trump, the “Dark Charismatic” as I call him in my book – The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement. The second was on the “Inherent Alien in the Post-Secular Society,” which discusses the metaphysicalization of Islamophobia – its retreat from race and religion into the intangibility of Geist. We had a total of 28 presenters, with Seyed Javad Miri delivering the plenary address on the first day. Our trip included a visit to a Mevlevi Sema (Spiritual Concert) at the Hodjapasha Culture Center, and a dinner cruise on the Bosphorus. On the last day of the conference, we visited the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed mosque), the 6th century Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) – the church-turned-mosque-turned-museum-turned-mosque, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the Topkapi Palace. Overall, this was an amazing experience. The conference went exceptionally well with very interesting presentations and discussions, the cultural excursions were amazing, the bazaars were spectacular, and the mosques were unspeakably beautiful and serene during salah. The dueling adhans between Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque was amazing (see the video below). Istanbul, also known as “Catstanbul,” is full of cats, which are communally owned, mostly friendly, and adored by locals and tourists alike. I miss them already. Unfortunately, the Aya Sofia is in disrepair, so a lot of renovation work is being done on it. It will look even more beautiful once it is done.
Our 2027 conference is tentatively planned to take place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Keep an eye out for the Call for Papers.
I would like to thank Nuri Tinaz of Marmara University for all his help organizing the conference on the ground in Istanbul; Cihan Nuri for driving us around and for the wonderful gifts, as well as The University of Olivet for all the technical support. Lastly, to all the students who helped us keep the conference going, you are awesome! Keep studying and change the world!
I am happy to announce that Esmaeil Zeiny and I recently published our book, Beyond Eurocentric Social Theory: The Nomadic Intellectual on Religion, Culture, and the State, which is a collection of essays that engage the work of the Iranian social theorist and my dear brother, Seyed Javad Miri. Dr. Miri is an encyclopedia of knowledge regarding social thought, both Western and Islamic. He has published books and articles on a wide variety of topics, from Iranian politics and culture to Western theory in conversation with Eastern philosophical and religious thought. His work has influenced countless intellectuals and we have attempted to honor him with this collection of essays, published by DeGruyter Brill.
I would personally like to thank Dr. Esmaeil Zeiny, who did the bulk of the heavy lifting on this project, which allowed me some intellectual space to keep working on the many projects that Seyed Javad and I are always involved in, including our Institute for Critical Social Theory, our journal Critical Perspectives, and the numerous books he publishes with Ekpyrosis Press. If there is good in this new book, it is the work of Esmaeil Zeiny and the authors; if there are mistakes, they’re mine.
Look closely at the cover and you’ll see that Seyed Javad is looking back at you!
From April 27th to May 10th, I led a group of students and friends on a journey to Italy to study Medieval and Renaissance Christianity. We began our trip in Venice, where we studied Venetian mercantilism, the history of the Doges, as well as the history of this unique water-bound city. After visiting the Doge’s Palace, we traveled up the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square to see the city from its highest point. We took a day trip to Padua to visit the Scrovegni Chapel as well as the Basilica of San Anthony, the both of which are amazing examples of medieval religiosity. From Venice, we traveled to Florence, where we studied Dante Alighieri, Niccolò Machiavelli, Savonarola, and the Medicis. We visited the Santa Maria del Fiori, the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi Galleries, as well as the Galleria dell ’Accademia. By chance, while standing in line to visit the Museo di San Marco, I ran into the American travel guru, Rick Steves, with whom I had a wonderful conversation about traveling and the state of the world. He was there to update his Florence guidebook; I was there to see the martyr Savonarola, on whom I will eventually write a book. We had a wonderful concert that night of Pachelbel, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Leaving Tuscany, we traveled to Assisi to study the life of St. Francis and St. Clare. This year has been declared the year of St. Francis by Pope Leo XIV, since it was 800 years ago that St. Francis died. I also met the author and longtime resident of Assisi, Mrs. Pricilla Calderini, and purchased a copy of her book, Mount Subasio: A Legend of Assisi. She is an amazing Brit-turned-Italian lady, who grew up near Oxford, but has lived in Assisi for over 60 years. Leaving Umbria, we traveled to Rome, the eternal city. While the students were all exhausted, we continued our studies, visiting the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Museum, The Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. We also spent some time at the catacombs of San Callixtus. In Rome, we saw our second concert, a mix of opera arias at an Episcopal Church: St. Paul’s Within the Walls. We had wonderful guides, wonderful dinners, and wonderful conversations. Overall, we had an amazing trip, which I hope the students learned a lot from. As always, thank you Witte Travel and Tours and Kristina Choura for constructing this most amazing travel class. I look forward to teaching on the road again!
On April 18, 2026, I had the wonderful opportunity to join the PAGMANGNO series of seminars held by the Philosophy Circle of the Philippines – Legazpi Chapter. In its 20th iteration, PAGMANGNO XX adopted the theme, “Philosophy in the Time of Authoritarian Regimes,” highlighting the importance of philosophy in times where actions and thoughts are being suppressed. I would like to thank my dear brother Hadje Cresencio Sadje who initiated the invitation, as well as the amazing students who had excellent questions.
The Institute for Critical Social Theory has released its Call for Papers for the 2026 conference at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of this year’s conference is “Critical Social Theory in an Age of Global Uncertainty.” We, the organizers, would love to see you all there. Send us an abstract! For more details, see the full Call for Papers below:
Critical Perspectives, the journal of the Institute for Critical Social Theory, has just released Vol. 1, no. 2. It was published in December by Ekpyrosis Press. In it I have an article entitled, “Ali Shariati and the Foundations of Islamic Socialism: Muhammad, Capitalism, and the Post-Metaphysical Socialist Alternative.” I also wrote a book review of Jack El-Hai’s The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Herman Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal meeting of Minds at the End of the WWII.
Just before the internet was shut off in Iran during the nationwide protests, I gave a short address on the Iranian philosopher, Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani, at the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studied in Tehran. Dinani is a towering figure in Iranian philosophy, yet is not well known in the West, which is a crime. The address was in conjunction with the publication of Dinani’s book, “The I and the Non-I: Beyond Subjectivism and Nihilism,” published by Ekpyrosis Press. The book was translated from Farsi to English by Seyed Javad Miri, and I wrote the foreword. The article below is about my talk and there is an audio link below through which you can listen to my talk.
On Wednesday, January 21st, I had the distinct pleasure to be a speaker at the 2nd annual Symposium of the Hiram Archer Student Success Academy (HASSA) at The University of Olivet. I spoke on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s conception of Justice, and why it is needed in the world today, as we, like Dr. King, live in a time of despair, a time of troubles, and a time wherein faith in our ability to govern ourselves with justice for all is disintegrating. I joined President Dr. Steven Corey, Author and Speaker DeAndre Carter, Oakland University’s Dr. Tonya Bailey and her amazing husband Lee Bailey, as well as the unconquerable recording artist, LaQuisha Burries-Finn. We also had the pleasure of listening to the UO Gospel Choir and the violinist, Rodney Page. This was a tremendous event, one wherein the spirit of Dr. King emanated through all the speakers and performers.
dustinjbyrd
Dustin J. Byrd, Ph.D. 