The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology: Charting a New Territory (Public Seminar and Book Launch)

Abstract:

In this seminar, Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour will explore the key questions which he addresses in his The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology: Toward a Theory of Maqāṣid al-ʿAqīda (Oxford University Press, 2022). In this monograph, he grapples with questions such as: Is Islam a religion of orthopraxy alone? Why did Islamic theology fail to develop a systemic genre of Maqāṣid al-ʿAqīda (Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology)? How do we chart out a map to guide the process of founding such an area? In what ways may the emerging Maqāṣid al-ʿAqīda benefit from the well-established Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa (Higher Objectives of Islamic Law)? What are the ramifications of having an underdeveloped theology?

Bio:

Dr Mohamed Gamal Abdelnour is a lecturer of Islamic theology and philosophy at the Faculty of Uṣūl al-Dīn, Al-Azhar University (Cairo) and a research fellow at the Department of religion and theology, University of Bristol, U.K. Gamal received his primary, secondary and undergraduate education at Al-Azhar, where he memorized the Qur’ān at the age of ten, deeply studied the various disciplines of the Arabic and 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). He is also a co-founder of the Oxford Interfaith Forum.

RSVP: Refreshments will be provided. Please email david.worsley@york.ac.uk to reserve a space.

Respondent:

Dr Shoaib Malik, Zayed University

Bio:

Dr Shoaib Ahmed Malik is Assistant Professor at Zayed University in Dubai. Dr Malik's most recent monograph, Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm (Routledge, 2021), won the 2022 International Society for Science & Religion (ISSR) book prize. In May 2023, Dr Malik will be delivering a lecture to the Royal Institute of Great Britain on the topic 'Islamic and Science'.

Chair:

Dr David Worsley, Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of York