In this lecture, Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour will explore some key questions addressed in his book titled, A Comparative History of Catholic and Aš‘arī Theologies of Truth and Salvation (Brill, 2021). The lecture will analytically and critically compare the historical development of Catholic theologies of truth and salvation with similar development in Islamic theological traditions, focusing on Ashʿarism. The discussion will move from individual theologians to theological schools. The aim is to help consolidate the young field of Comparative Theology and highlight areas of continuity/discontinuity between modern and classical theology in both traditions.
Speaker
Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour
Lecturer
Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour is a lecturer of Islamic theology and philosophy at the Faculty of Uṣūl al-Dīn, al-Azhar University (Cairo) and an honorary visiting fellow at the Department of Philosophy, University of York. Gamal received his primary, secondary, and undergraduate education at Al-Azhar, where he gained the qualification as ḥāfiẓ of the Qurʾan. He studied deeply the various disciplines of the Arabic and Islamic tradition and graduated as valedictorian of his class with a BA in Islamic Studies and Philosophy in 2011. He holds an MA in Catholic Theology (Durham University) and a PhD in Comparative Theology (SOAS, University of London). He is the author of A Comparative History of Catholic and Aš‘arī Theologies of Truth and Salvation: Inclusive Minorities, Exclusive Majorities (Brill, 2021) and The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology: Towards a Theory of Maqāṣid al-ʿAqā’id (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Please note filming and photography may take place during the lecture for educational and promotional purposes.
Views expressed in this lecture are those of the presenting scholars, not necessarily of IIS, the Ismaili community or leadership. Promotion of this lecture is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.
Image: Photo by Alex Quezada on Unsplash
