Frank Griffel, Professor of Religious Studies at Yale and Oxford, is this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner in the category “Arabic Culture in Other Languages”. Translator Stefan Weidner will discuss his latest book “The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam” with him and religious philosopher Ahmad Milad Karimi (Center for Islamic Theology, Münster).
In Europe, Arab-Muslim philosophy is primarily regarded as the mediator of ancient philosophy to Europe. Its intrinsic value is rarely recognized. The prevailing view is that there was no philosophical thought worth mentioning in Islam after 1200. Frank Griffel demonstrates that this view of Arabic-Islamic philosophy has little basis. Philosophy was part of the curriculum at many religious schools (madrasas) until the twentieth century. Only Western influence and colonialism put an end to this tradition. What does this history teach us, and what can Muslim philosophy contribute to the global discourse community today?
In cooperation with Sheikh Zayed Book Awards.
Interpretation into English: Carmen Grau
Also available in Arabic and German
