1st January 2025
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Comparative Religious Studies

The main goal of the seminar is a better understanding of the key concepts of Abrahamic traditions through comparative religious studies methodology. The seminar discusses theological subjects in the philosophical realm, descriptive not prescriptive, as a historian or an outsider of these traditions, not as an insider or believer. The discussions are purely neutral, critical analysis, historical, and based on modern scholarship of religious studies. Is the scripture infallible? Are Jews, Christians, and Muslims worshiping the same God? What is the initial capacity for violent interpretation in each tradition?

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion is a critical examination of metaphysics and rational justification for religious claims, as well as philosophical exploration of faith, religious experience, and the distinctive features of religious discourse. The course explores the nature of God’s attributes; arguments for God’s existence; the problem of evil; religious epistemology; religious language; God, science, and naturalism; faith and revelation; morality and religion; death and afterlife; miracles; and religious diversity. We compare the advantages and disadvantages of four methods of practicing the philosophy of religion: analytic, Wittgensteinian, continental, and feminist.

Ibn Arabi’s Sufism: Islamic Theoretical Mysticism

Ibn Arabi, one of the world’s great spiritual teachers, was a prominent mystic and visionary who enriched the Sufi tradition of Islam with his numerous and profound spiritual writings. This course explores Ibn ‘Arabi’s methodology (divine speech, deiformity, and names & relations), ontology (wahdat al-wujud, non-delimitation, imagination, and the barzakh), things and realities (fixed entities, the reality of realities, and entification [ta‘ayyun]), the return (the circle of existence, stages of ascent, and the two commands), and human perfection (the station of no station, perfect man, and divine presences).

Islam (Introduction)

Islam is simultaneously one of the most frequently discussed and least understood of the world’s major religious traditions. This introductory course includes the foundational scripture (the Qur’an), the life of the Prophet (Muhammad), and major dimensions of Islamic thought and practice ranging from ethics/law and theology to mysticism and philosophy. This course will also include a unit on contemporary debates in Islam, by examining the legacy of American Muslims. It is designed for any student who wants to learn about Islam, its essential teachings, and its foundational sources.

Against Campus Militarization and Repression

We Condemn the Militarization of Campuses and Repression of Students, Faculty, and Staff Demanding an End to the US-Supported Israeli Genocide of Palestinians, “Disclosure and Divestment” from Israel, and “Re-investment” in our communities. We demand that Duke disclose its holdings and divest from all financial and academic projects that support the Zionist settler-colonial project and re-invest in the workers who make our communities places we call home. We demand a commitment to free thinking and dissent on campus and off, and reversal of the increased militarization and securitization of campuses.

Duke University Academics and Staff for Justice in Palestine Stands with Gaza Solidarity Encampments

We insist that universities and colleges allow all community members including students to freely express their ideas and opinions rather than actively repress them; demilitarize our campuses and refrain from militarizing and policing them further; outline a policy for the future protection of speech, including and especially dissent; take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges divest from companies supporting the military-industrial complex and Israeli state violence, genocide, apartheid, and occupation; and take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges boycott Israeli institutions through the BDS campaign.

The Institution of Marriage in Islam

The pillars of a legitimate marriage in Islam between two adult males and females are two: clear consent of the two parties themselves for marriage and binding an agreement so that they become husband and wife. ‘Non-verbal conventional marriage’ is a legitimate marriage because both pillars of marriage were observed in it. A written marriage contract and especially its submission in a legal center for marriage is closer to caution for a time of frequent disagreement. The Western style of partnership ‘cohabitation’ is not necessarily equivalent to non-verbal conventional marriage.

Philosophy of Shah Wali Allah

Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (1703-1762) was an Indian theologian, Sufi of the Naqshbandi order, and promulgator of modern Islamic thought who first attempted to reassess Islamic theology in the light of modern changes. This course explores his philosophy, including the philosophy of religion, theology, and mysticism. We focus on a critical analysis of three of his masterworks that were translated into English and discuss his major principles and key terms in theoretical mysticism: Ḥujjat Allāh al-Bāligha (The Conclusive Argument from God), and The Lamaḥāt (Flashes/Glimpses of Philosophy), and The Sataʿat (Illuminations).

An Analysis of Shi’ite Political Thought

Imam Ali recognized the mutual rights of the ruler and ruled, the sanctity of contracts, especially with the enemy, and freedom of speech as the cornerstones of Shite political philosophy. Understanding Shi’ite political thought is impossible without considering the doctrine of justice and its consequences such as the right to an uprising against unjust rulers, which is crystallized in Imam al-Hussein b. Ali’s maxims and teachings. Ayatollah Khomeini’s political theory is in the absolute minority not only in the history of Shi’ite fiqh but also in contemporary Shi’ite fiqh.
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Email: kadivar.mohsen59 (at) gmail.com

About

Mohsen Kadivar is a mujtahid, Islamic theologian, philosopher, writer, leading intellectual reformist, and research professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University.