What Went Wrong with Islamic Philosophy-Theology?
Event details
Abstract:
Looking at the academic study of Islam in the West today shows that there are two dominant
positions: The Declinists and the Anti-Declinists. By the Declinists we refer to those who argue
that the Islamic philosophical and theological tradition witnessed a period of decline with
variations as to when the decline exactly started to happen, and by the Anti-Declinists we refer
to those who take the opposite position. In this lecture, the aim is to critically engage with
those two views and to take a step back, asking a more fundamental question. That is: What went wrong with Islamic philosophy-theology from the very beginning?
positions: The Declinists and the Anti-Declinists. By the Declinists we refer to those who argue
that the Islamic philosophical and theological tradition witnessed a period of decline with
variations as to when the decline exactly started to happen, and by the Anti-Declinists we refer
to those who take the opposite position. In this lecture, the aim is to critically engage with
those two views and to take a step back, asking a more fundamental question. That is: What went wrong with Islamic philosophy-theology from the very beginning?
Bio:
Dr Mohamed Gamal Abdelnour is a lecturer of Islamic theology and philosophy at Al-Azhar
University (Cairo) and an honorary research fellow at the Department of philosophy, University
of York, U.K. Gamal received his primary, secondary and undergraduate education at Al-Azhar,
where he deeply studied the various disciplines of the Islamic tradition, and graduated as
valedictorian of his class with a bachelor’s in Islamic Studies and Philosophy in 2011 (Al-Azhar
University, Cairo). He holds an MA in Catholic Theology (Durham University, U.K.) and a PhD in
Comparative Theology (SOAS University of London). He is the author of A Comparative History
of Catholic and Ashʿarī Theologies of Truth and Salvation: Inclusive Minorities, Exclusive
Majorities (Brill, 2021) and The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology: Towards a Theory of
Maqāṣid al-ʿAqā’id (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Dr Mohamed Gamal Abdelnour is a lecturer of Islamic theology and philosophy at Al-Azhar
University (Cairo) and an honorary research fellow at the Department of philosophy, University
of York, U.K. Gamal received his primary, secondary and undergraduate education at Al-Azhar,
where he deeply studied the various disciplines of the Islamic tradition, and graduated as
valedictorian of his class with a bachelor’s in Islamic Studies and Philosophy in 2011 (Al-Azhar
University, Cairo). He holds an MA in Catholic Theology (Durham University, U.K.) and a PhD in
Comparative Theology (SOAS University of London). He is the author of A Comparative History
of Catholic and Ashʿarī Theologies of Truth and Salvation: Inclusive Minorities, Exclusive
Majorities (Brill, 2021) and The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology: Towards a Theory of
Maqāṣid al-ʿAqā’id (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour