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This talk is jointly organised by the Middle East Institute, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and Muis Academy Singapore.

The idea of ‘reform’ is a recurrent theme in Islam. It is encapsulated through the figure of the mujaddid, which specifies a learned man who appears at the turn of every century to revise the doctrines of Islam in order to make it relevant to its time.

Depsite their differing doctrinal focus, past Islamic figures hailed as mujaddid such as Ibn ‘Arbai, Ibn Tamiyyah and Al-Ghazali all share one thing in common – they doubters of the Isalmic norms of their day. They were critical thinkers intent on improving society.

This seminar aims to articulate the idea of ‘critical Islam’, a tradition within past and present Islamic societies that has been largely understudied. In the modern world, the idea of ‘critical Islam’ becomes especially pertinent as Muslims negotiate a viable existence in an age punctuated by the rise of nation-states, a proclivity for reason and the need to uphold human rights.

In this two-hour seminar, scholars will discuss ideas of reform, rights, moral codes and pluralism with references to examples and discourses from the Middle East and Asia.

MODERATOR

Assoc Prof Michael Feener
Research Leader of the Religion and Globalization Research Cluster at Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

PANEL SPEAKERS

Progressive or Freethought?: Reframing Islamic Reformism
Dr Carool Kersten (via Skype)
Senior Lecturer in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World, King’s College London, UK

Ethics and Critical Islam
Prof Ebrahim Moosa
Professor of Religion and Islamic Studies, Duke University, USA

The Idea of Critical Islam
Prof Ziauddin Sardar
Professor of Law and Society, Middlesex Univeristy, UK

Cosmopolitanism and Critical Islam in the Nusantara
Dr Nazry Bahrawi
Research Fellow, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore

REGISTRATION
Please visit http://www.mei.nus.edu.sg/events/199/critical-islam-perspectives-on-the-middle-east-and-asia to register for the event.
For queries, do call 6516 2380.