Interviews

In support of Protests in Iran

This is the fourth big protest since 2019 in Iran. Iranians are outraged with grievances that won’t soon go away. This is not only about freedom for women (especially their hair covering), but freedom for the country from the ruling of the minority over the majority, freedom of a style of life, against the mandatory style of life. The majority of Iranians support a democratic, secular regime. The government blocked all the ways of reforms. There’s no way for the people, except to come to the streets and protest.
HMouK
2022/10/01
Letters

Listen to the Voices of Protesting Iran

This country-wide revolt is against not only the brutal murder of Mahsa but also the essence of the so-called Islamic regime. The demand is loud and clear: an end to a theocratic regime whose multi-faceted violence against marginalized bodies is manifested in Mahsa’s death. Protestors are chanting “women, life, freedom.” Creating and sustaining such a continuum requires recognition of the intersectional struggles that women and other marginalized bodies are experiencing in countries such as Iran and under the current Islamic theocracy. We insist on a queer-feminist, anti-capitalist, and anti-fascist agenda.
HMouK
2022/09/27
Pieces

Condemning the attack on Rushdie

I strongly condemn today's bloody attack on Salman Rushdie, the author of Satanic Verses in New York. Based on Islamic and Quranic teachings, this illegitimate attempt is condemned. The way to deal with false thoughts is scientific criticism, not physical elimination. “The bloody fatwas against Kasravi, Taha, Fawda and Taqī, as well as the legal rulings to kill Rushdie and Abū Zayd, must be publicly condemned to prevent their recurrence, for they only weakened and harmed Islam. Issuing such fatwas is a sign of the inability to provide a rebuttal.”
HMouK
2022/08/12
News

Comparative Medieval Philosophy

Medieval philosophy is a prerequisite to understanding the theology of Abrahamic traditions, metaphysics, philosophical psychology, and political philosophy. We will focus on six top philosophers: Alfarabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes, Maimonides, and Thomas Aquinas. After discussing general information about two translation movements, these distinguished philosophers, their works, and their philosophical innovations through the translation of a few of their major works, we will focus on comparative studies on three important subjects: God, creation, and freedom in three Abrahamic traditions, focusing on Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, and Aquinas in detail.
HMouK
2022/05/05
News

Religion and Science

This course discusses the relationship between religion and science from four perspectives: religion and ‘history’ of science; religion and ‘method’ of science; religion and the ‘theories’ of science; ‘philosophical and theological’ reflections. The major subjects of discussions: first, physics: quantum theory, relativity, order and complexity, and metaphysical implications; second, astronomy: the Big Bang, creation in Abrahamic religions, design, chance and necessity, and theological implications; third, biology: Darwinism and evolutionary theory, natural theology, a hierarchy of levels, and theological implications; fourth, psychology & neuroscience: conciseness, self, soul, dream and religious experience.
HMouK
2022/05/05