The Swedish Anarchist Who Became a Sufi Shaykh and Coined the Term Islamophobia

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Ivan Aguéli was a restless polymath who bridged worlds. A Swedish painter and anarchist, he traveled from Paris to Cairo, eventually converting to Islam and becoming a Sufi initiate. He left a legacy as a founder of Swedish contemporary art and a pioneer in the study of Islamic esotericism.

Born John Gustaf Agelii in 1869, Aguéli was a man of radical contradictions. His early life was defined by artistic training under masters like Anders Zorn and Richard Bergh, yet he was equally drawn to the fringes of political and spiritual life. His involvement in French anarchist circles led to his arrest during the 1894 'Trial of the Thirty,' a pivotal moment that preceded his deep immersion in the Islamic world.

In 1902, Aguéli became one of the first Western Europeans to enroll at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University. There, he was initiated into the Shadhiliyya Sufi order by Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman Ilaysh al-Kabir. This transformation redefined his life; he adopted the name 'Abd al-Hadi and dedicated himself to the teachings of Ibn Arabi. He later founded the secret Al Akbariyya society in Paris, which counted the influential René Guénon among its members, effectively shaping the trajectory of the Traditionalist movement.

Aguéli’s intellectual reach was as broad as his travels. Between 1904 and 1913, he co-founded the Cairo-based magazine Il Convito, which sought to foster mutual understanding between Italy and the Islamic world. It was in this publication that he first used the term 'Islamophobia.' Despite his scholarly and artistic contributions, his life ended in tragedy in 1917 when he was killed by a train in Spain, where he had been expelled under suspicion of being an Ottoman spy.

Today, Aguéli is celebrated in Sweden as a foundational figure in contemporary art, known for his unique Post-Impressionist style that utilized color to evoke depth. His remains were eventually returned to his hometown of Sala in 1981, where he was re-buried with Islamic rites, marking the final chapter in the life of a man who spent his existence traversing the boundaries between East and West.

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