The AMI Podcast

Dr Malik, a scientist by training, has been researching this topic for many years and recently published a work on the topic through the lens of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī. His lecture laid out a systematic framework by which Muslim scholars can approach the topic of evolution. Dr Malik outlined the major theories on evolution including creationism, human exceptionalism, Adamic exceptionalism, and the no exceptions theory and examined whether such theories are scripturally compatible from an Islamic perspective.

Ibn Babawayh – also known as al-Shaykh al-Saduq – was a prominent Twelver Shi'i scholar of hadith. Writing within the first century after the vanishing of the twelfth imam, al-Saduq represents a pivotal moment in Twelver hadith literature,  as this Shi'i community adjusted to a world without a visible imam and  guide, a world wherein the imams could only be accessed through the text  of their remembered words and deeds. George Warner's study of  al-Saduq's work examines the formation of Shi'i hadith literature  in light of these unique dynamics, as well as giving a portrait of an  important but little-studied early Twelver thinker. Though almost all of  al-Saduq's writings are collections of hadith, Warner's approach  pays careful attention to how these texts are selected and presented to  explore what they can reveal about their compiler, offering insight  into al-Saduq's ideas and suggesting new possibilities for the wider  study of hadith.

Dr. Mashid Turner presents a surface overview of the Islamic perspective of angels. She begins by outlining that the belief in angels is a foundational aspect of Islamic theology – one that has been emphasised upon in the Quran. As her talk develops, clear parallels can be seen between the Islamic perspectives and that of the Christian and Jewish backgrounds. Dr. Turner explains how, in her understanding of the Islamic belief, angels were manifestations of God’s power and mechanisms of His will to be enacted; without having autonomous will of their own or power to dissent against God’s command, nor agency to act beyond His will.

Prof. Rabbi Jeff Berger provides a Jewish examination on angelology. Rabbi Berger gives a host of references to angels’ interaction with man, including apostles of God, as mentioned in Hebrew scripture. Subsequently, Rabbi Berger describes a hierarchy of angelic ranks as described in Judaism. He then classifies angelic beings into virtuous angels, who guide towards God, and those that are subversive and prompt man to act in an evil way.

Canon Dr. Andrew Thompson begins his presentations by explaining how angels are part and parcel of religious belief, and not exclusively confined to formal or conventional religions. After explaining that Christian beliefs in angels are largely based on Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, Dr. Thompson’s presentation split the way angels are viewed in, Christian theology, into two categories: their ontological aspects and their nature on one hand, and their functional value on the other hand.

This presentation outlines the religious, specifically the Muslim, background of the sanctity of life argument (SLA) in bioethics and its recent secular versions. It suggests a path towards the future of SLA by taking into account a widely neglected theological position in bioethics in general and specifically in SLA: negative theology. It further probes whether SLA is fundamentally a cataphatic (positive) theological position or whether an apophatic (negative) version of SLA is also possible.

In this presentation, Dr Lloyd focuses specifically on the views of two Iranian clerics, Ayatollah Motahhari and Ahmad Qabel, whose views on the hijab are diametrically opposed, but who argue from a position of “rationality”. These arguments assume greater importance given the current campaign for unveiling in Iran.

The roots of the power struggle over authority and recognition among various factions of Twelver Shias of South Asian background living in London revolves around the idea of how the ‘true and authentic’ Shia Islam is practised through Ashura Rituals. The theological and political genealogy of this struggle can be traced by examining the history of Shia Islam in South Asia and by analysing the migration of Shia Muslims from India to Pakistan during 1947 partition of sub-continent, and subsequent migration to Britain from South Asia. This seminar will present the historical analysis and ethnographic accounts on Shia Islam and how it is practised in London. The influence of London based Iranian and Iraqi Shia transnational networks are vital to understand in order to approach the internal groupings of adherents in London based South Asian Hussanias. While some South Asian origin Shias confirm to the Iran-backed reformist versions of globally standardised ritual commemoration of Ashura, others detest this and search for religious reinterpretations that may legitimise their South Asian ways of commemorating the Ashura ritual.

An important component in the post-Islamic discourse is the question of the status of Islamic law in contemporary times. Many contemporary jurists have argued that the juridical decisions in the past were interwoven to the political, cultural, or historical circumstances in the eighth century. They further argue while the Qur’an is a fixed text, the interpretive applications of its revelations can vary with the changing realities of history.  This paper argues that there is a need to move beyond the current form of ijtihad to an era of post-ijtihad in Twelver Shi‘ism. The present ijtihad, which was developed in the medieval ages, has failed to produce a coherent legal system that can effectively respond to the needs of contemporary Muslims. The paper will also focus on the post-ijtihadism phenomenon and will argue that the traditional text-centered ijtihad has to be replaced with a new form of ijtihad which utilizes different forms of exegetical principles to formulate new rulings that will serve the Muslim community better. Post-ijtihadism, as I call it, will entail new hermeneutic and interpretive principles to provide a re-evaluation of classical juristic formulations and to assert a new jurisprudence that is based on the notion of ethical axioms and universal moral values. Post-Ijtihadism will also entail revamping traditional Islamic legal theory (Usul al-fiqh) which has hampered rather than enhanced the formulations of newer laws.

In recent years a significant amount of attention has been paid to British Muslim perceptions of evolutionary science. This has predominantly taken the form of sensationalist newspaper headlines written in response to alleged incidents of Muslim rejection of evolutionary science. Examples include statements by Richard Dawkins and media coverage of comments by geneticist Steve Jones or the publication of Harun Yahya’s Atlas of Creation. Unfortunately this has not been restricted to the media. Similar narratives are also found in academic literatures, with examples of unsubstantiated reports that a rise in “Islamic Creationism” has taken place. Yet, little academic research had been conducted to support such claims. This paper will draw on newly available data to critically examine British Muslims’ perceptions of evolution, as well as to gain a further understanding of the factors influencing perceptions of evolutionary science.