Mar Update: Inaugural Ibn Sina Lecture & Art Exhibition plus Qur'an Event

View this email in your browser MARCH 2024 The Muslim Institute is proud to launch the Inaugural Annual Ibn Sina Lectures & Islamic Art Exhibition to be held at Leeds Civic Hall on Friday 26 April 2024: Ibn Sina – the Philosopher's Philosopher from the Golden Age of Islam Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā (980-1037 CE) is amongst the most influential philosophers in history.  Known in the Latin West under the name of Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā played a pivotal role in the history of philosophy and science within the Muslim world and beyond during the Golden Age of Islam. The speaker will Dr Fedor Benevich, a leading scholar on Ibn Sina. The event will also exhibit rare and precious Islamic artefacts, Qur'ans and calligraphy courtesy of the generosity of Razwan Baig, whose stunning private collection is one of the largest such collections in the UK. Mr Baig is a curator, master calligrapher & Islamic Art designer. Email info@musliminstitute.org to register. More event details below.  Days before the start of Ramadan, the Muslim Institute hosted a special launch event with Professors Bruce Lawrence and M.A.R. Habib of their new ground-breaking translation The Qur'an: A Verse Translation. The event took place in the beautiful surroundings of the library at Conway Hall, central London.  Details below and photos here. INAUGURAL IBN SINA LECTURE & ISLAMIC ART EXHIBITION Leeds Civic Hall, Friday 26 April 2024   Ibn Sina – the Philosopher's Philosopher from the Golden Age of Islam Exhibition opens from 1pm to 7pm. Lecture 5pm to 7pm. Followed by food. Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā (980-1037 CE) is amongst the most influential philosophers in history.  Known in the Latin West under the name of Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā played a pivotal role in the history of philosophy and science within the Muslim world and beyond during the Golden Age of Islam. Ibn Sīnā gained fame at a young age as a prodigy in philosophy and medicine. After serving as a physician at the courts of Isfahan and Hamadhan, he authored what is arguably the most important medieval book in medicine, the Canon of Medicine. Translated into Latin in the 12th century, it remained one of the most widely read sources on medicine until the early modern period. In the Islamic world, Ibn Sīnā became the main authority in medicine, replacing Galen in this role.   If, in medicine, Ibn Sīnā replaced Galen, then in philosophy, he did so with Aristotle. Before Ibn Sīnā, philosophy in the Islamic world was largely focused on reacting against and developing Aristotelian philosophy. After Ibn Sīnā, the spotlight shifted to his philosophy. Ibn Sīnā proposed a new system of metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and epistemology that significantly reformed Aristotelian philosophy, aligning it with the religious and intellectual realities of the Islamic world. This system largely defines Islamic philosophical thought up to the present day. In this inaugural lecture, Dr Fedor Benevich, a leading scholar on Ibn Sina, will explore the life, works, and influence of Ibn Sīnā in the Islamic world. Was Ibn Sīnā's lifestyle as extravagant as some later reports suggest? Which works of Ibn Sīnā should we read to gain a good grasp of his thought? How does Ibn Sīnā understand God, and what are his views on the immortality of human beings? These, along with other related questions, will be in the spotlight of this lecture.    Dr Fedor Benevich is Lecturer in Islamic Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich) in 2016 under the supervision of Prof Peter Adamson, with the thesis titled "Essentiality and Necessity: Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition (in German)." This thesis was later published as a monograph (Brill, 2018).   Dr Benevich is the author of multiple articles and chapters on history of philosophy in the Islamic world, published in top Philosophy and Islamic studies journals. He is also a co-author of The Heirs of Avicenna: Philosophy in the Islamic East from the 12th to the 13th Century: Metaphysics and Theology (Brill, 2023). Dr Benevich's current research focuses on the philosophy of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), post-classical philosophy in the Islamic world, and the philosophy of kalām (Islamic philosophical theology).   Islamic Art Exhibition To initiate the Ibn Sīnā lectures, the Muslim Institute in collaboration with the generosity of Razwan Baig, will exhibit rare and precious Islamic artefacts, Qur'ans and calligraphy. In Islam, various forms of artistic expression have been used to inspire believers towards devotion of God. This exhibition will provide a glimpse into the world of Islamic artefacts and calligraphy, showcasing a stunning variety of calligraphic forms over the last 1400 years and from a broad geographic expanse of the Muslim world. Mr Baig's private collection is one of the biggest collection of such items in the UK. Razwan Baig is a curator, a master calligrapher & Islamic Art designer. Register your place: info@musliminstitute.org Book launch -The Qur'an: A Verse Translation On Tuesday 5th March, days before the start of Ramadan, the Muslim Institute teamed up with publishers W. W. Norton & Company to host Bruce Lawrence and M.A.R. Habib for the London launch of their new ground-breaking publication The Qur'an: A Verse Translation.  The event, open to Muslim Institute fellows and the public, took place in the beautiful surroundings of the library at Conway Hall, central London. The chair, Farhana Mayer, engaged the two authors in an introductory conversation, interspersed by readings from their new translation. This gave the audience a fascinating insight into their 10 year endeavour to render the Qur'an into verse. The conversation was followed by an audience Q&A that made for a wide-ranging and deep engagement with the speakers and their newly wrought text. The evening ended with a book-signing, with everyone present receiving a specially designed and produced Muslim Institute/Critical Muslim bookmark to go along with their new copy of the Qur'an. The entire event was filmed. Click here to view photos from the event and the video will be available here soon.  The Muslim Institute at 50: What happened and how the world changed The biggest and most successful Muslim Institute Winter Gathering for many years took place in December 2023 at Sarum College, Salisbury. Fellows and friends heard an array of local and international speakers brought together by the Institute to celebrate and interrogate the 2023 theme The Muslim Institute at 50: What happened and how the world changed. Many of the speakers during the weekend residential were there at the start of the Institute's journey in 1973 and had flown from the Middle East, North America and Africa to be with us. They were joined with key activists who have built Muslim political, social and community organisations in the UK across the decades. Also taking part was Bosnia's Grand Mufti Emeritus Mustafa Cerić. As one new fellow told us "what an excellent and mentally-stimulating weekend this was". Three of our fellows have written their personal impressions of the Winter Gathering and what they took away from the event: Shenaz Bunglawala: It was my first time attending the MI Winter Gathering and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was the programme that enticed me: 'The Muslim Institute at 50'. The opportunity to reflect on the MI's journey as a learned society and the changes evolving in British Muslim communities over a winter's weekend was too good to pass by.  I'm thrilled I joined the gathering. Three days of stimulating conversations, a warm ambience and an interesting coterie of fellows in a delightful setting...click to continue reading Yasser al-Zaiat: The Winter Gathering served as an extensive crash-course in British Muslim life. It intertwined the Institute's evolution with the broader narrative of the Muslim community in Britain. This journey through Anglo-Islamic history was eye-opening, highlighting crucial moments like the rise of Islamic nationalism in the 1970s, the impactful Islamic Revolution in Iran during the 1980s, and the challenges faced by the UK's Muslim community in the 1990s, especially following the Rushdie affair and the Bosnian genocide...click to continue reading Naomi Foyle: It was a rich weekend. Sessions covered 'the Rushdie affair', the Iranian revolutions, Prevent, Stop the War, and Bosnia. Speakers included the Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia, Mustafa Cerić, a fitting guest of honour as we responded to the genocide in Gaza, culminating in a panel on Palestine I chaired. Those who spoke, including the Grand Mufti, emphasised the importance of breaking cycles of violence; refusing despair; examining carefully whether to put energy into humanitarian fundraising or political campaigning; strengthening our communities to give Muslims and in particular Muslim women a stronger presence in the British political landscape...click to continue reading See photos of the event here. Sailiha: Issue 48 of Critical Muslim Robin Yassin-Kassab extolls the virtue of translations, Ebrahim Moosa explores the virtues of the Prophet, Ziauddin Sardar recalls the virtuous life and untimely death of his wife Saliha, Abdelwahab El-Affendi attempts to sort out virtue and vice in knowledge, Colin Tudge suggests a set of bedrock virtues will save the planet and us, Gordon Blaine Steffey outlines three departures on anger, Jinmei Yuan illustrates the ways Confucius shows how to live a virtuous life, Jeremy Henzell -Thomas wrestles with virtuous words, Aamer Hussein reflects on the life of Muhammadi Begum the pioneering nineteenth century Urdu writer on female virtues, Naomi Foyle is moved by the struggles of the Irish singer and songwriter Shuhada' Sadaqat (Sinéad OConnor), Liam Mayo gets a haircut from a senior citizen, C Scott Jordan returns to a memorable dinner with Saliha, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown remembers her virtuous mother, and our critique of ten virtues generated by ChatGPT. Also in this issue: Zain Sardar dissects philosophy's pathologies, James Brooks watches a film about the Arab Spring, Yuri Prasad reads a major history of black people in Britain, Mansur Ali studies commentaries on hadith, Safia Latif's enchanting paintings, a short story by Gwen Burnyeat, Amandla Thomas-Johnson's American Diary, and poems by Farid Bitar, and the legendary Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Get your copy here. Fellows receive complimentary copies. info@musliminstitute.org  |  www.musliminstitute.org 7 - 14 Great Dover Street, London, England, SE1 4YR   Copyright © 2023 Muslim Institute, All rights reserved. You are on our list because you have volunteered your email to us.

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