I am truly grateful for this opportunity to dedicate myself to conducting research and writing my monograph next academic year. I am thankful to everyone who supported me to make this possible.
Kazuyo Murata, Department of Theology and Religious Studies
29 April 2025
Leverhulme Research Fellowship awarded to Dr Kazuyo Murata
Dr Kazuyo Murata, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies has been awarded a fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust for her project, Sufi Recipes for a Life Lived Well.
Dr Kazuyo Murata from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship to write a monograph entitled, Sufi Recipes for a Life Lived Well.
The monograph explores life's big questions so as to understand what pre-modern Sufis (writing in Arabic and Persian) conceived as a good human life. Instead of exclusively focusing on what to do in order to lead a good life, it will pay particular attention to what not to do, or things Sufis tell people to avoid and dispel—such as boredom, despair, idleness, conceit, useless knowledge and ingratitude—so that humans can achieve the happiness that is meant for them. It will also examine the meaning of suffering and conclude with general recipes for a life lived well according to the Sufis.
This award of a Leverhulme fellowship at mid-career is an endorsement of the quality and originality of Dr Murata’s work
Linda Woodhead MBE FBA F.D.Maurice Professor, Head of Department, Department of Theology and Religious Studies
The Research Fellowships are tenable for between 3 to 24 months, awarded by the Leverhulme Trust.
In this story
Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies