The ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ hosted the first ever conference on Mu’tazilism and the Qur’an on 22 July at the Aga Khan Centre and online.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýMu’tazilism and the ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²Ô conference, convened by Professor Walid Saleh (University of Toronto), focused on the influence of Mu’tazilism—one of the earliest Islamic schools—on all aspects of the ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²ÔMuslims believe that the Holy ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²Ô contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More, its status, interpretation, and relationship to the Prophet. It also addressed Mu’tazilite thought and the influence it had on Islamic theology in other schools.
Professor Saleh said:
“This is the first such conference to be held on this topic. Scholars from all over the world gathered to discuss the relationship between one of the most important theological schools in Islam and the ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²Ô. The proceedings will be published in the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ prestigious series on the ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²Ô.â€
The speakers were:
- Hussein Abdulsatar (University of Notre Dame)
- Rodrigo Adem (Georgetown University)
- Karen Bauer (The Institute of Ismaili Studies)
- Tariq Jaffer (Amherst College)
- Alena Kulinich (University of Oxford/Seoul National University)
- Suleiman Mourad (Smith College)
- Walid Saleh (University of Toronto)
- Abdulrahman al-Salimi (independent scholar)
- Gregor Schwab (Ludwig Maximilian University)
Professor Jaffer said:
“We were all exhilarated by the conference that Professor Saleh and Naushin Premji (ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Projects and Events Coordinator) organised. The conference succeeded in calling into question major assumptions that have been brought to the field of Mu’tazili theology and exegesis.â€
“And by working as a collective, we were able to assess—in more significant ways than ever before—the complexity and diversity of Mu’tazilism and to better understand how the movement in various times and places shaped the history of ²Ï³Ü°ù’a²Ôic interpretation.â€
