Islamic philosophy
All topics-
The Moroccan thinker Abdallah Laroui
A modernist who defends theocracy
Abdallah Laroui has always been one of the people who advocated a break with the spiritual heritage of the Arab world and saw the values of Western modernity as the basis of a rational humanity. In a recent interview, however, he began defending theocracy, arguing that the Arab world had not succeeded in making a democratic system take root. By Ali Anouzla
-
The death of Abdelwahab Meddeb
A proponent of disloyal loyalty
The renowned Tunisian-French writer and Islam expert Abdelwahab Meddeb died of cancer in Paris on 6 November 2014. He was 68. Obituary by Bettina David
-
The Congress "Horizons of Islamic Theology"
A disintegration of Islam?
Academics from all over the world met to debate Islam at the congress "Horizons of Islamic Theology" in Frankfurt in early September. But the event was overshadowed by the acts of terror being perpetrated in the name of the faith by Islamic State and other extremist organisations. By Claudia Mende
-
Interview with Angelika Neuwirth
"The claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age-old cliche"
In this interview with Anna Alvi and Alia Hübsch, Prof. Angelika Neuwirth says that the claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age old cliché, and that it is pride in the Enlightenment that continues to lead people to believe that Western Culture is superior to Islam
-
Exchange between Christian, Jewish and Muslim Scholars
Exploring a Shared Heritage
Prof. Sabine Schmidtke, head of the Research Unit for the Study of Intellectual History in the Islamicate World at the Freie Universität Berlin, has a passion in life: working with ancient manuscripts. In the course of her work, she discovers common threads in the thinking of Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars. Arnfrid Schenk takes a closer look at her work and its significance outside the academic world
-
Al-Azhar and Pan-Islamic Rationalism
The Demise of Islamic Centres of Moderation
The spread of extremism in Muslim societies in the past century can be attributed to a largely overlooked trend: the demise of religious institutions that once had global reach. Focusing on Egypt's Al-Azhar university, Hassan Hassan takes a look into the matter
-
After the Arab Revolutions
Islamic Modernity
An enormous whirlwind of change has been unleashed by the upheavals in the Arab world and the long-term effects are unforeseeable. A middle course will have to be charted between the precepts of Islam and the demands of revolution. By Rainer Hermann
-
10th Anniversary of the Death of Annemarie Schimmel
Searching for the Inner Life of Islam
As one of the most eminent western scholars of Islam, Annemarie Schimmel is still held in high esteem in the Islamic world. But despite being a kind of a mystic herself, the German got entangled in the fraught relations between East and West. Ten years after her death, Stefan Wild takes stock of her life and work
-
The decline of Islamic scientific thought
Don't blame it on al-Ghazali
Academics are correct in pinpointing the exact period in which Muslims began turning away from scientific innovation – the 11th century – but in Abu Hamid Al Ghazali they have identified the wrong person. By Hassan Hassan
-
Louvre Unveils Islamic Art Wing
Where Cultures Intertwine
The Louvre has just opened a new wing devoted to Islamic art and thereby once again highlighted its status as a museum of world art. The successful project has gone ahead under the auspices of three French presidents and rises above fanaticism. By Joseph Hanimann
-
Controversy Surrounding the Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis
The Ambivalent Revival of Islamic Traditions
Among the signs of a gradual cultural turnaround in the countries of the Arab Spring is the conflict that has been simmering for several months regarding the revival of the old Islamic school at the Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis. By Joseph Croitoru
-
Europe's ''Judeo-Christian Heritage''
The Fiction That It Always Was
Contemporary debate over Europe's identity increasingly refers to the continent's Christian or Judeo-Christian heritage. But a closer look at the history books belies this theory and teaches us that for centuries, Islam and Judaism have played an integral role in shaping European history and that both religions have been regarded with deep hostility down through the centuries. By Stefan Schreiner