Farid Suleiman – författare

This study systematically examines the methodological foundations of the doctrine of attributes espoused by the influential Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyya (died 728 AH/1328 CE). It integrates the perspective he developed in multiple single tractates into an overall view and examines its connections in intellectual history. Thus, the volume makes an important contribution to research on the history of Islamic theology.

The volume was awarded the Dissertation Prize of the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG) 2019 as well as the Classical Islamic World Book Prize 2019.

This study systematically examines the methodological foundations of the doctrine of attributes espoused by the influential Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyya (died 728 AH/1328 CE). It integrates the perspective he developed in multiple single tractates into an overall view and examines its connections in intellectual history. Thus, the volume makes an important contribution to research on the history of Islamic theology.

The volume was awarded the Dissertation Prize of the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG) 2019 as well as the Classical Islamic World Book Prize 2019.

Der Band ist das Ergebnis des Projekts „Islamische Lernkulturen", einer Kooperation zwischen den Universitäten Erlangen und Bayreuth. Die Forschung der Arbeitsgruppe ist von der Grundannahme geleitet, dass Formen und Funktionen der Unterrichtung islamischer Theologie nicht bereits in ihr selbst angelegt sind, sondern vor dem Hintergrund der breiteren geistigen, gesellschaftlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen ausdifferenziert werden. Die Beiträge beleuchten die Lehr- und Lernformen islamischer Theologie in Geschichte und Gegenwart aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Zum einen sollen dadurch die unterschiedlichen Kontexte, Ressourcen und Praktiken der theologischen Unterweisung und des Lernens herausgearbeitet werden, zum anderen wird ein Beitrag zur Herausbildung eines reflektierten Selbstverständnisses der Islamischen Theologie in Deutschland geleistet. Dabei kommen muslimische Theologinnen und Theologen unterschiedlichster Ausrichtung ebenso zu Wort wie Islam- und Sozialwissenschaftler/innen. In unterschiedlichen Fallstudien werden Grundlagen von Bildung und Wissen, die Übertragbarkeit islamischer Lehr- und Lernkulturen in das deutsche Wissenschaftssystem, Formen und Funktionen des neuen Faches sowie (politische) Erwartungen daran thematisiert.

Der Band ist das Ergebnis des Projekts „Islamische Lernkulturen", einer Kooperation zwischen den Universitäten Erlangen und Bayreuth. Die Forschung der Arbeitsgruppe ist von der Grundannahme geleitet, dass Formen und Funktionen der Unterrichtung islamischer Theologie nicht bereits in ihr selbst angelegt sind, sondern vor dem Hintergrund der breiteren geistigen, gesellschaftlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen ausdifferenziert werden. Die Beiträge beleuchten die Lehr- und Lernformen islamischer Theologie in Geschichte und Gegenwart aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Zum einen sollen dadurch die unterschiedlichen Kontexte, Ressourcen und Praktiken der theologischen Unterweisung und des Lernens herausgearbeitet werden, zum anderen wird ein Beitrag zur Herausbildung eines reflektierten Selbstverständnisses der Islamischen Theologie in Deutschland geleistet. Dabei kommen muslimische Theologinnen und Theologen unterschiedlichster Ausrichtung ebenso zu Wort wie Islam- und Sozialwissenschaftler/innen. In unterschiedlichen Fallstudien werden Grundlagen von Bildung und Wissen, die Übertragbarkeit islamischer Lehr- und Lernkulturen in das deutsche Wissenschaftssystem, Formen und Funktionen des neuen Faches sowie (politische) Erwartungen daran thematisiert.

Engendering an intimate and deep relationship with God is at the heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This relationship manifests, among other things, in worshipping Him with sincerity, talking to (and about) Him, and being conscious of Him in every moment of life. For believers, God himself plays also an active role in pursuing this relationship by, for example, answering prayers and making the believer know and feel His uninterrupted presence. Many would consider this as common knowledge about the religions mentioned above. However, only few are aware that the meaning of the above differs significantly based on how one thinks that religious language works. Rather, it is taken for granted that the word ‘God’ refers to a metaphysical being with personal traits and plays a similar role in structure as words in empirical language. This has several implications such as the following: God can be talked about in an abstract and theoretical manner; His existence can be subject to inquiry like that of any other being such as planets or unicorns; and calling God good, while creation is obviously full of evil, is a proposition that needs rational justification. The famous 20th century thinker Ludwig Wittgenstein has famously stated that his goal in philosophy essentially amounts to "showing that things which look the same are really different". By his insistence to pay close attention to the grammar of a word – that is its use in language – he has opened up new perspectives on (not only religious) language that challenges the prevalent view outlined above. The goal of this volume is to pick up on Wittgenstein’s insights about language and religion and to bring them in fruitful relation to the three mentioned religious traditions respectively in an attempt to reassess the grammar of the word ‘God’.

Engendering an intimate and deep relationship with God is at the heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This relationship manifests, among other things, in worshipping Him with sincerity, talking to (and about) Him, and being conscious of Him in every moment of life. For believers, God himself plays also an active role in pursuing this relationship by, for example, answering prayers and making the believer know and feel His uninterrupted presence. Many would consider this as common knowledge about the religions mentioned above. However, only few are aware that the meaning of the above differs significantly based on how one thinks that religious language works. Rather, it is taken for granted that the word ‘God’ refers to a metaphysical being with personal traits and plays a similar role in structure as words in empirical language. This has several implications such as the following: God can be talked about in an abstract and theoretical manner; His existence can be subject to inquiry like that of any other being such as planets or unicorns; and calling God good, while creation is obviously full of evil, is a proposition that needs rational justification. The famous 20th century thinker Ludwig Wittgenstein has famously stated that his goal in philosophy essentially amounts to "showing that things which look the same are really different". By his insistence to pay close attention to the grammar of a word – that is its use in language – he has opened up new perspectives on (not only religious) language that challenges the prevalent view outlined above. The goal of this volume is to pick up on Wittgenstein’s insights about language and religion and to bring them in fruitful relation to the three mentioned religious traditions respectively in an attempt to reassess the grammar of the word ‘God’.