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The Ark of the Covenant’s Spelling Controversy: A Historical Linguistic Perspective
By Marijn van Putten, Leiden University
This article examines a famous element in the reports on the canonization of the Qurʾānic text under the auspices of Uthman, in which the committee of scribes that were to write the standard text came to a disagreement on how to write the Qurʾānic word for at-tābūt “Ark.” After examining the different versions of the report that contain this episode, and concluding that the report of this episode goes back to the common link of Ibn Šihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124/741–2), it is shown that early on the linguistic details of this disagreement were no longer understood. However, by examining how Aramaic and Classical Ethiopic loanwords that end in stem-final -ūt or -ōt are treated, this report can be understood as referring to two competing adaptations of this foreign word into Arabic. On the one hand at-tābūt, the form that ends up in the standard text, and on the other hand at-tābāh (or more precisely: at-tābōh), which shows a similar strategy of adaptation as several other central loanwords in the Qurʾān such as aṣ-ṣalāh“prayer” and az-zakāh “alms.”
Link: https://doi.org/10.1515/islam-2024-0017
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #Hadith #QuranicStudies
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AL-FĀRĀBĪ’S EIGHTH FALLACY EXTRA DICTIONEM AND AVERROES’ CRITICISM
By Alexander Lamprakis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
This paper aims to introduce and discuss al-Fārābī's (d. 950–1 CE) fallacy from transfer and substitution in his little-studied “On Deceptive Topoi” (Kitāb al-amkina al-muġalliṭa) and the criticism leveled at him by Averroes (d. 1198 CE) for violating Aristotle's claim of the exhaustiveness of his list of fallacies. The first and larger half of this paper introduces al-Fārābī's treatise and its innovations upon Aristotle's Sophistici elenchi. The second half focuses on Averroes’ criticism in his so-called middle commentary (talḫīṣ) on Aristotle's SE and discusses the validity of his arguments against al-Fārābī. As the final analysis will show, Averroes’ criticism does not sufficiently take into account the independence of al-Fārābī's treatise from Aristotle's SE, its disregard for the study of dialectical deception and counter-deception, and its particular focus on the demonstrative sciences. In light of al-Fārābī's innovation his “On Deceptive Topoi” turns out to be a work of great originality drawing on a broad range of source texts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423924000043
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Tags: #Islam #Avicenna #AlFarabi
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TWO QUESTIONS: THE MASʾALATĀN AND THE AVICENNIAN CORPUS
By István Lánczky, Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies
This article brings to light a previously unedited short treatise, the Masʾalatān (Two Questions), attributed to Avicenna (d. 1037). While the earliest witness to the text is the Ayasofya 4853 manuscript, containing a substantial portion of Avicenna's Nachlass, some of which is integrated into the Mubāḥaṯāt and Taʿlīqāt, the Masʾalatān has remained a standalone work with limited circulation. Consequently, the primary concern revolves around the verification of its authenticity and its feasibility given the available data. This article presents a critical edition of the text alongside a parallel translation but it also serves as a case study on the possibilities of authorship verification. It also compiles information from codicology, nevertheless, it primarily focuses on the commentary that analyses and compares the arguments to Avicenna's unquestionably authentic solutions. The first question addresses whether every existent is spatially located, while the second explores the impossibility of an actual infinite body. The commentary endeavors to interpret the text against the cultural and theological background that may have inspired such inquiries, meanwhile also seeks to address its later influence. In addition to unveiling a hitherto unseen text to the scholarly community for further research, it also offers an insight into the limitations of authorship attribution.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S095742392400002X
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Tags: #Islam #Avicenna #Theology
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Attitudes of Jewish and Muslim Religious Leaders Towards the Declaration of Principles as a Test Case for Judaism and Islam between Peace and Conflict
By Odeya Schuz
and Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer, Bar-Ilan University
The Declaration of Principles (Oslo I Accord, September 1993) was the inaugural groundbreaking agreement in the Israeli‒Palestinian Identity conflict, which revolves around consecrated territory as well as identity components on both sides. This historic accord elicited myriad responses, yet the stances of religious figures are particularly consequential given the profound and intricate religious underpinnings of the conflict. This paper presents the attitudes toward the Declaration of Principles (DOP) held by six religious personages: Rabbi Yehuda Amital, an Israeli Jew supporter of the DOP; Rabbi Shlomo Goren, an Israeli Jew who opposed it; Sheikh Abdullah Nimer Darwish, an Israeli Arab who endorses the DOP; Sheikh Raed Salah, an Israeli Arab who rejects it; Sheikh ʿImad al-Falouji, a Palestinian proponent; and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian opponent. Based on rulings, statements, and press publications, this paper analyzes their rationales and utilization of religion’s social influencing mechanisms, seeking to understand religion’s capacity to confer legitimacy upon alternative religious values enabling conflict resolution through political means, thereby impacting the conflict toward reconciliation or, conversely, escalation. This paper aims to characterize the discourse and reasoning to propose more efficacious means of attaining broad religious legitimacy for future, sustainable peace accords.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101193
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Tags: #Islam #Judaism #Politics
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Heavenly Overpopulation: Rethinking The Ethics Of Procreation
By Blake Hereth, University of Pennsylvania
Many theists believe both (1) that Heaven will be infinitely or maximally good for its residents and (2) that most humans will, eventually, reside in Heaven. Further, most theists believe (3) that human procreation is often all-things-considered morally permissible. I defend three novel arguments for the impermissibility of procreation predicated on the possibility of heavenly overpopulation. First, we shouldn’t be rude to hosts by bringing more people to a party than were invited, which we do if we continue to procreate. Second, justice requires that the goods of Heaven be supremely good for those for whom heavenly existence is (even partially) compensatory, but if Heaven has a fixed and finite number of goods, each successful act (or enough acts) of procreation lowers the expected goodness for those persons and threatens to undermine justice. Third, we should choose the course of action with the least-worst outcome, and it would be worse to overpopulate Heaven than underpopulate it.
Link: https://doi.org/10.69574/aejpr.v1i2.22930
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Tags: #Theism #Heaven #Theology
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The Greatest Name of God: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as a cosmic image in Rajab al-Bursī's Mashāriq al-anwār
By Mohammad Amin Mansouri, Central Washington University
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661)—a revered figure in Islamic history as both the first Shiʿi imam and the fourth caliph—serves as a significant image of sacral power in the Persianate world and beyond. ʿAlī's authority underwent a profound reimagining in the early modern era as he emerged as a captivating imperial emblem from the Timurid renaissance to the Safavid revolution, rivalling other prominent figures of political authority such as Chinggis Khan (d. 1227), and becoming a symbol of human perfection for both Sunni and Shiʿi intellectuals alike. ʿAlī transcended his role as a Shiʿi imam to assume the status of a cosmic figure, gradually becoming an ideal symbol for imperial branding. However, there is little scholarly knowledge and appreciation of his changing role in this period. This article examines how al-Ḥāfiẓ Rajab al-Bursī's (d. circa 814/1411) Mashāriq al-anwār, which has remained highly popular throughout the Persianate and Shiʿi world, contributed to the reshaping of ʿAlī's image, portraying him as the quintessential archetype of sacral power and unmatched authoritative feats.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/teth.12669
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Tags: #Islam #History #Shiism
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Akkirmânî’s Occasionalist Approach to the Neuroscience
By Nazif Muhtaroglu, Yale University
In this paper, I explore the problem of human freedom and responsibility in light of current neuroscientific research, particularly focusing on Libet-style experiments. Beginning with a review of significant experiments on the nature of human will, starting with Libet’s influential series from the 1980s, I survey various interpretations of these experiments including those that pose challenges to concepts of human freedom and responsibility. Subsequently, I introduce the perspective of Mehmed Akkirmânî (d. 1760), an Ottoman scholar who advocates for a libertarian view of human freedom within an occasionalist framework and constructs sophisticated arguments against theological determinism. Akkirmânî’s analysis of human will delineates different aspects such as inclinations, intentions, and decisions, positing that humans possess freedom solely in their conscious decisions, thereby suggesting a limited scope of free will. I argue that Akkirmânî’s views are remarkably consonant with contemporary scientific findings and align with some libertarian positions. His occasionalist perspective offers an alternative model to contemporary naturalist physicalism in elucidating the connection between mental and neurophysical states.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #Occasionalism #Kalam #FreeWill #Neuroscience
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The prayers of the Enlightenment deists and the religious Enlightenment
By Joseph Waligore, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Throughout most of the twentieth century, the Enlightenment was seen as a period when people used the light of reason and science to free themselves from the shackles of religious beliefs. For example, Henry Steele Commager said, ‘the men of the Enlightenment … are the first fully to emancipate themselves from religious superstition and to understand the nature of man in the light of science and reason’.1 Similarly, Peter Gay stated that there was a unified Enlightenment whose proponents rejected the religious beliefs they grew up with while being on a mission to develop ‘a naturalistic world view, a secular ethical system, and above all a triumphant scientific method’.2 Moreover, the deists were seen as major proponents of secularism, naturalism, and the scientific method. Gay asserted that the deists living in England had a very important role in the Enlightenment mission of developing a secular and scientific worldview because they were ‘the first men in modern times to set out on this mission … they redrew the religious map of Europe’.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #Religion #Deism #Enlightenment
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Teleology
By Matthew Tugby, Durham University
Teleology is about functions, ends, and goals in nature. This Element offers a philosophical examination of these phenomena and aims to reinstate teleology as a core part of the metaphysics of science. It starts with a critical analysis of three theories of function and argues that functions ultimately depend on goals. A metaphysical investigation of goal-directedness is then undertaken. After arguing against reductive approaches to goal-directedness, the Element develops a new theory which grounds many cases of goal-directedness in the metaphysics of powers. According to this theory, teleological properties are genuine, irreducible features of the world.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #Metaphysics #Teleology #Theism
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Who Will Be Saved: The Right or the Upright?
By Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour, University of York
There is a growing body of literature on the Islamic theology and philosophy of salvation. This literature can be loosely grouped into three main groups: there are those that link the right path of salvation to a specific Muslim group, others that link it to believing in the Prophet Muhammad regardless of the theological group that a Muslim may follow, and there are those that link it to the belief in God and doing good. Despite this variety, what largely unites those various interpretations is that they all emphasize the “rightness” of one’s theological path, i.e., asking the question, what is the “right” track to God? However, what received scant attention so far is the question of “uprightness” as opposed to “rightness”, i.e., Is salvation primarily about being “right” (muḥiqq), or rather about being “upright” (ṣādiq/mukhliṣ)? Drawing on Q. 5:116-119, which presents a conflict between “rightness” and “uprightness” embodied in Jesus’ conversation with God regarding the fate of those who did not have the right theology, and taking its cues from Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) who attempted to rejuvenate Islamic theology through spirituality, this article takes “uprightness” as the primary requisite for one to attain salvation and argues that the Quran, despite the emphasis it places on pursuing the “right” path, gives primacy to the “uprightness” of one’s position instead. Uprightness in the article is used in reference to the quality of being honest, responsible, and moral, as opposed to being merely “right” or “correct” theologically.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091119
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #Theology
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Science–Religion Interaction: Exploring the Grounds, Delineating a Framework
By Zahra Zargar, Shahid Beheshti University
The early inquiries on the science-religion relationship have focused exclusively on their epistemic aspects for describing the essence of their relationship. However, the recent theories include practical and social aspects of science and religion, and seek models that support plurality, complexity, and dynamic aspects of them. In this paper, I follow two aims. First, I want to explore the implications of the recent theories for the existence of an inevitable dynamic and fruitful interaction between science and religion. Second, I try to delineate a framework for conducting science–religion interactive projects that preserves the authority of both systems, and prevents vicious and illegitimate results.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2024.2399897
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Tags: #ConflictThesis #Science #Religion
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Dysteleology: A Classical Sunni Exegetical Perspective
By Ismail Lala, Gulf University of Science and Technology
This study conducts a qualitative analysis of teleological verses in the Qur’an, which reveals that they only demonstrate the power of God to resurrect, and the will of God to punish/ reward as He pleases, not His perfection. Subsequently, a quantitative analysis of the term most used to refer to teleological proofs (“āya,” sign) is conducted. It demonstrates that the term most frequently denotes miracles, emphasizing the power of God, and punishment, underscoring the will of God. The locational proximity of the putative teleological verses to eschatological ones corroborates that the overall objective of these verses is eschatological.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2024.2399900
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Tags: #God #Quran #Exegesis
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Becoming a (Better) Muslim: A Connectivist Perspective on Learning Islam in Finland
By Maija Butters and Terhi Utriainen, University of Helsinki
The article explores the multisite learning of Islam by Finnish Muslims from the perspective of the connectivist learning theory, which makes visible the central contemporary ways of learning that emphasize the role of digitalization and collaborative learning with peers. We focus especially on learning in the context of Ramadan because, for many, the holy month is an essential time for apprehending Islamic tenets and practices. Our research indicates that the understanding of Islam among our research participants is a result of a complex set of connections and nodes of information, both online and offline. The research participants’ multisite learning was enriched with an abundance of horizontal (peer-to-peer) and vertical (teacher-to-student) connections, enabling multiple interpretations and reflective learning of Islam. Our research also suggests that in Finland, where Islam is a minority religion, the learning process to become a (better) Muslim contains many aspects shared equally by converts and those born Muslim.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srae024
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Tags: #Sociology #Muslims #Islam
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Tolerance before Secularism: Models of Tolerance in Nineteenth-Century Arabic
By Wael Abu-ʿUksa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
By analyzing temporal language, this study investigates the intellectual origins and the conceptual history of three concepts of tolerance that emerged in the Arabic context towards the end of the 19th century. The first is a philosophical concept that has evolved within the philosophical-rational tradition and has connections to the Enlightenment and liberalism. The second is a theological concept that advocates for a harmonious interpretation of all monotheistic religions based on the assumption that all monotheistic scriptures are true. The third is a legal Islamic concept that aims to preserve the traditional imperial and hierarchical Islamic system while addressing contemporary concerns related to citizenship and political affiliation. Tolerance is frequently examined within the research framework on secularity and secularism. Before secularism emerged as a holistic doctrine in Arabic (ʿalmāniyya), discussions surrounding tolerance were closely linked to societal and political principles, including civil equality, freedom of conscience, and the neutrality of religion in the public domain.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091090
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Tags: #History #Secularism #Islam #Arabic
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Contesting Power as Political Theology: Traditionalist Islamic Preaching and Post-Secularism in the West
By Abdessamad Belhaj, University of Public Service
Traditionalist Islamic preaching in the West is not limited to the normative aspects of theology, law, and ethics. In addition, it addresses the most pressing social and political issues that Muslims are currently confronting in the West; it also challenges Western modernity in general and secularism in particular. Two critical sermons of secularism delivered by two of the most well-known traditionalist Muslim preachers in their respective countries—Hamza Yusuf in the USA and Hani Ramadan in Switzerland—are analyzed in this study. First, I shall examine the arguments put up by these preachers against secularism and in support of post-secular society. Next, I will study the rhetorical strategies used in these two sermons. Finally, I will discuss the relevance of these two sermons to the contemporary debates in the West on contesting secularism and multiple secularisms. It is argued here that traditionalist Muslim preachers see secularism as an encroaching power that poses a danger to the figures of authority and norms that control gender, knowledge, and education within Muslim communities and societies.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101197
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Tags: #Islam #Secularism #Theology
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IBN SĪNĀ ON PROVING CAUSALITY
By Hannah C. Erlwein, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Ibn Sīnā famously opens The Metaphysics (Al-ilāhiyyāt) of The Healing (Al-šifāʾ) with a discussion of what constitutes the subject matter of that science. Several candidates are introduced and subsequently dismissed, before “the existent qua existent” is identified as its subject matter. Among the candidates dismissed, he mentions “the ultimate causes for all existents, the four of them” (which are, however, things investigated [maṭālib] in this science). Here, Ibn Sīnā comes to problematise the notion of causality itself. He is adamant that “the existence of causes for things which are effects” is not self-evident, but needs to be proven by the metaphysician by means of a “demonstrative clarification” (bayān burhānī). He explains why sensation (ḥiss) and experience (taǧriba) cannot prove causality, before turning to its metaphysical proof. In this article, I investigate what Ibn Sīnā thought this “demonstrative clarification” of causality is. I present an analysis of his train of thought and a commentary on the various points he makes, leading up to his proof of causality. These points touch on problems of psychology, scientific method, and scientific proof, and can be unpacked by taking into account explanations he offers elsewhere.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423924000031
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Tags: #Islam #Avicenna #Metaphysics
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Exploring Literature in Islam Beyond (Secularized) Christian Normativity in Western Academia
By Claire Gallien, Cambridge University
Anyone specialising in Islamic theology at a Western university is aware of the fact that their teaching and research will either be recognised by the institution as falling under the category of “Islamic Studies” or “Divinity”. In the first case, Islam is predominantly considered a cultural phenomenon and studied as such. In the second case, for reasons that have to do with what Marianne Moyaert in her latest book Christian Imaginations of the Religious Other has conceptualised as “Christian normativity” and the “religionisation” of other faiths, Islamic theology is de facto understood as Islamic speculative theology (kalām). In both cases, the understanding of how Islam theorises and practices theology is significantly restricted, when not altogether ignored. This article unpacks the genealogy of the secular version of a Christian epistemic framework that dominates the study of Islamic theology in the West and engages with the issues related to its application in the field of Islamic theology. In doing so, it opens a critical space for the investigation of Islamic literary productions as both dissensual and consensual theological terrains, through the analysis of the poetry of two theologians and polymathic scholars from two different periods of Islamic history, namely Ibn al-Fāriḍ (d. 632/1235) and Sidi Muḥammad Ibn al-Ḥabīb (d. 1390/1971).
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101190
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Tags: #Islam #Kalam #Theology #Epistemology
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John Damascene’s Arguments about the Existence of God: A Logico-Philosophical and Religio-Hermeneutic Approach
By Vassilios Adrahtas, Western Sydney University
The Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith is perhaps the most logically structured and inspired work not only in the oeuvre of the seventh-to-eighth-century theologian John Damascene, but most likely throughout the entire Greek Patristic literature. As such, the Exact Exposition definitely presents some quite intriguing features, such as the prolific use of logical distinctions, syllogisms, or full-fledged arguments, to name a few. Regarding the latter, John Damascene’s use of certain arguments in order to prove the existence of God not only hold a unique place in Byzantine theology but have also exercised a tremendous influence on Eastern Orthodox apologetics. However, what I would call his rationalization agenda comes not only with merits but with faults as well. It is to both these that the present study draws attention by evaluating them logico-philosophically and interpreting them religio-hermeneutically. What is of special interest is the fact that John Damascene’s logical faults are the most interesting parts of his theologizing.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101167
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Tags: #God #Logic #Hermeneutics #Religion
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Can Christians Plausibly Explain Virtuous Non-Christians?
By Michael Bergmann, Purdue University
It is a plain fact – obvious to any minimally perceptive person familiar with an adequate cross-section of humanity – that rationality, erudition, and moral goodness are to be found among both secular people and religious people alike, including followers of Christian and non-Christian religions. Can Christians plausibly account for this? Can they plausibly account for the fact that many non-Christians (whether religious or not) are not only morally good in many respects but also morally better than many Christians? More specifically, if they think salvation is for Christians rather than non-Christians, must they think (implausibly) that all Christians are morally better than all non-Christians? If not, must they think that (if not everyone is saved) God is unfair in saving some who are morally worse rather than others who are morally better? In this paper, I will defend a negative answer to these last two questions and (at the same time) a positive answer to the title question.
Link: https://doi.org/10.69574/aejpr.v1i2.23338
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Tags: #Christianity #God #Theology
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Why Teach Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur'an to Undergraduate US University Students?
By Roberta Sabbath, University of Nevada
Introducing students to the similarities and connections among the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur'an is a means to introduce students to a shared source of humanity, beauty, wisdom, and solace. This article outlines a literature class that uses comparatist strategies to introduce these three foundational religious texts as literary works. Figural and thematic strategies reveal the development of stories, characters, ideas, and values. Cultural studies strategies demonstrate the profound effects that the texts have had on our notions about our relationships and responsibilities to ourselves, our families, and our world. Students report a better understanding of their own spiritualties, a greater acceptance of their own identities, and an increased appreciation of the diversity of their communities.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/teth.12669
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Tags: #Quran #Bible #Religion #Pedagogy
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An Epistemology of Revelation
By Arpad Szakolczai, University College Cork
The aim of this article is to approach the epistemology of revelation through the approach of political anthropology. It departs from Max Weber’s distinction between ordinary and out-of-the-ordinary situations, which led to his idea of charismatic power. This article complements the Weberian perspective by introducing the anthropological term “liminality” for such situations, as well as the term “trickster” for figures who have a specific affinity for appearing in such situations, creating havoc instead of offering a solution. Ordinary knowledge does not apply to liminal void situations of incommensurability; incommensurable knowledge can be gained by magic and religion. Magic forces the transcendent and claims to produce effects, while religion is based on revealed knowledge, the validity of which is established by trust. Under particularly anguishing liminal conditions, the hardly tolerated practitioners of magic might gain positions of power. An important such example is offered by Persian Magi. Turning to the present, modern rationalism, with Bacon and Descartes, undermined both ordinary and revealed knowledge. The possible relevance of revealed knowledge in contemporary times is discussed through the related phenomena of apocalyptic expectations and Marian apparitions.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #Religion #Revelation #Epistemology
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Philosophical Interpretation of “God Is Dead”: Retreat, Disruption, and Judgment
By Kuo Li, Southeast University
Nietzsche’s declaration of “God is dead” signifies not only the collapse of classical metaphysical systems in philosophy but also shifts in the psychological structure of individuals and society after the secularization of Christianity. A philosophical reading is crucial to understanding its whole process and real-world ramifications. We first delineate the fundamental meanings and historical context of the term “God” or “Absolute” and expound upon the mechanisms of spiritual functioning under it, highlighting the significance of God, or the Absolute, as the highest object of spiritual operation. Next, we analyze the death of God, i.e., the retreat of the Absolute, in the realms of reason and faith, exploring its causes and repercussions, particularly the disruption of the operation of the spirit. Then, building upon this analysis, we conclude that the metaphysical life supported by Kant and Hegel faces failure in the present age, because the Absolute has ceased to be the foundation. The roots of spiritual operation are no longer secure; the return to the Absolute points to emptiness, and exit without return creates disruptive division between subject and substance, essence and phenomenon, reason and reality. Meanwhile, the departure of God and the development of capitalism are intertwined, calling for a resurgence in the form of secularization, heralding a renewed human judgment of God.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #God #Secularism #Christianity
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The Conciliarist Idea of Islam in the Quattrocento—Prelude and Legacy
By Marco Demichelis, Alma Mater University of Bologna
This contribution intends to examine the impact of Conciliarism (1414–1439) on the Christian vision of Islam in the Quattrocento. The analysis of the thought of bishops such as Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) and John of Segovia (d. 1458) is understandable only through the evolution of the Latin world with regard to Islam, moving from the Corpus Toletanum (12th century) and the impact of the Crusades in the Levant (1096–1291) and in Europe. This forwardness is rooted in the process of “Islamic Christianization,” an analytical operation lasting three centuries, during which Koranic Christology was to play a primary role. It will be through this “Christ-centric” process that from the Renaissance, the Ottoman empire, the great enemy of Western Christianity, will be appreciated for some of its peculiar facets. The weakening of the concept of heresy and of Catholic ecclesiastical authoritarianism in decreeing what heresy was was probably one of the “indirect” outcomes of that dialogical “Moment of Vision” between Christianity and Islam. The further fragmentation of the Church of Rome, after the failure of Conciliarism and the outgrowth of the reformed Churches in the 16th century, favored a preliminary different understanding of the religiosity of others.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110
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Tags: #Islam #Christianity #History #Religion
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Synthetic Human Embryos, Embryo Models and Embryo-like Structures in Islam
By Sayyed Mohamed Muhsin, International Islamic University Malaysia et al
A major breakthrough in developmental biology is the ex vivo generation of synthetic human embryos from stem cells. A comprehensive, in-depth bioethical analysis from a Sunni Islamic perspective reveals that the reproductive applications of synthetic human embryos contravene Islamic precepts of preserving lineage integrity (Hifz al-Nasl) due to disruption and confusion of kinship and familial relationships, similar to human cloning with somatic cell nuclear transfer. However, their non-reproductive applications in generating replacement tissues/organs, serving as in vitro experimental models of human development and disease, and testing platforms for evaluating pharmaceuticals and biomedical devices appear to align with Islamic principles.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2024.2399902
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Tags: #Islam #Ethics #Shariah #IslamicLaw
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The Sensus Divinitatis and Non-Theistic Belief; or Turning Plantinga’s Religious Epistemology Against Christian Theism
By Timothy Perrine, Rutgers University
A key element of Plantinga’s religious epistemology is that de jure objections to Theistic belief succeed only if de facto objections to Theistic belief succeed. He defends that element, in part, by claiming that human beings have an innate theistic faculty, the sensus divinitatis. In this paper, I argue that Plantinga’s religious epistemology makes Christian Theism open to a de facto objection due to the characteristics and distribution of religious beliefs in the world. I defend my argument from a potential objection from skeptical theism, before concluding with a comparison to a similar argument.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2024.2399899
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Tags: #God #Theism #Plantinga #Epistemology
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Quantum Mechanics and Inclusive Materialism
By Javier Pérez-Jara, Yale University
Since its inception, the intricate mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics has empowered physicists to describe and predict specific physical events known as quantum processes. However, this success in probabilistic predictions has been accompanied by a profound challenge in the ontological interpretation of the theory. This interpretative complexity stems from two key aspects. Firstly, quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory that, so far, is not derivable from any more basic scientific theory. Secondly, it delves into a realm of invisible phenomena that often contradicts our intuitive and commonsensical notions of matter and causality. Despite its notorious difficulties of interpretation, the most widely accepted set of views of quantum phenomena has been known as the Copenhagen interpretation since the beginning of quantum mechanics. According to these views, the correct ontological interpretation of quantum mechanics is incompatible with ontological realism in general and with philosophical materialism in particular. Anti-realist and anti-materialist interpretations of quantum matter have survived until today. This paper discusses these perspectives, arguing that materialistic interpretations of quantum mechanics are compatible with its mathematical formalism, while anti-realist and anti-materialist views are based on wrong philosophical assumptions. However, although physicalism provides a better explanation for quantum phenomena than idealism, its downward reductionism prevents it from accounting for more complex forms of matter, such as biological or sociocultural systems. Thus, the paper argues that neither physicalism nor idealism can explain the universe. I propose then a non-reductionistic form of materialism called inclusive materialism. The conclusion is that the acknowledgment of the qualitative irreducibility of ontological emergent levels above the purely physical one does not deny philosophical materialism but enriches it.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9050140
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Tags: #QuantumMechanics #Materialism #Metaphysics
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Leibniz and the Religion of the Mohammadans
By Christopher Johns, American University of Beirut
Throughout his correspondence and writings, Leibniz made a number of passing references to the religion of the Mohammadans (Islam) and to several Islamic commentators. Recent literature on these references has placed them in the context of Leibniz’s political and historical interests that largely reflect his Eurocentric prejudices. The purpose of this paper is to extract a more detailed and systematic view of Leibniz’s knowledge of and interest in the religion, through Leibniz’s remarks on Islam in relation to Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, through the commentary of Maimonides and the Christian Averroists, and through a (partly speculative) comparison of three types of theodicy. The paper concludes that while Leibniz knew very little about Islam’s actual doctrines, and that he was subject to the prejudicial views of his time, he understood Islam, as he did Christianity, as largely in conformity with natural (rational) religion. At the same time, his interest in its specific doctrines was primarily instrumental, that is, as correctives to certain abusive practices and misunderstandings persisting within Christianity, which could then explain for him why Islam prevailed in the East.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091087
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Tags: #Leibniz #Christianity #Islam #History
Philosophical Inquisition Online Research Seminar
Seminar Number: 04
Seminar Date: Thursday 26th September 2024
Seminar Time: 18:00 - 20:00 (UK time)
Session Location: Online (Microsoft Teams). Link Provided Below
Contact Us: philosophicalinquisition@gmail.com
Delivered By: Faheem A. Hussain
Title
Ambiguity as a Master Key: Critically Reading Thomas Bauer’s Culture of Ambiguity
Abstract
Thomas Bauer’s 'A Culture of Ambiguity' explores how premodern Muslim societies embraced ambiguity and tolerated diverse interpretations, contrasting this with modern Islam’s rigidity under Western influence. While the concept has sparked significant academic interest, this essay critiques Bauer’s conflation of different uses of ambiguity, proposing a taxonomy to clarify its strengths and limitations. It questions the value of ambiguity as a framework for evaluating religious traditions and warns against its use as a comparative tool, as it risks importing Western biases despite Bauer’s intentions.
Faheem's published article can be accessed via the following link:
https://themaydan.com/2024/08/ambiguity-as-a-master-key-critically-reading-thomas-bauers-culture-of-ambiguity/
Join via the following Microsoft Teams Link:
Meeting link: https://teams.live.com/meet/9422927475423?p=b6CNuJTePKD8dj6sMs
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The Grammar of Emotion Verbs in the Qurʾān: A Case Study of the verb Xāfa
By Yehudit Dror, Salam Saied and Bayan Amara, University of Haifa
The concept of emotions has been studied from numerous perspectives in psychology, the history of emotions and religion. This study sheds light on the linguistic devices implemented to articulate emotions in the Qurʾān by taking the emotion verb xāfa ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ (and its derivatives) as a case study. In both modern and classical dictionaries of the Arabic language as well as in Quranic exegesis, the verb xāfa is often replaced by another verb that expresses fear such as xašiya ‘to be afraid’ or ‘to be in awe’. Here it is shown that the verb xāfa occurs in certain syntactic structures and has specific meanings that are not denoted by other verbs expressing fear in the Qurʾān. Specifically, when the verb xāfais followed by a subordinate clause that starts with the particle ‘an, it can be rendered as ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ since the cause of this fear is a probable event. When the verb xāfa is followed by the preposition ‘alā it denotes ‘to fear for [the wellbeing of] someone (e.g., a family member)’ because of a situation in which they are likely to be found. When it is followed by the noun rabb‘Lord’ or Allāh ‘God’, the verb refers to ‘fear of God’, where fear of His punishment motivates the people to worship Him. When the verbal noun xawf has no object and is used in conjunction with the verbal noun ‘amn (‘security’) it can be interpreted as ‘insecurity about something’. Because the verb xāfa is central to the religious concept of fear of God, it is used in the Qurʾān to express a general and collective attitude of fear or awe. However, xāfa is also used to express individual experiences of fright at specific times or places.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae021
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Tags: #Quran #Religion #God #Arabic
