What is the Ibn Masarra Islamic Thought Forum?
It is a new interdisciplinary project, created and promoted by Junta Islámica and Fundación Las Fuentes, to offer a forum for contemporary Islamic thought and theology at a European level. Thinking Islamic theology today in the West is an urgent need and for this we offer a laboratory of ideas where to do it, which also raises a community project.
Tradition and contemporaneity go hand in hand in our Forum to offer alternatives and intellectual production that responds to today’s world. Directed by Antonio de Diego, it is open to Muslim thinkers, intellectuals, scientists and theologians of all nationalities and ages. Our main working languages are Spanish, English and Arabic.
What kind of Islamic theology does the Ibn Masarra Islamic Thought Forum propose?
Being an open project, there is no single line, so we promote diversity in the broadest spectrum. While it is true that a large part of our members are aligned with neo-Andalusian proposals, which implies a current and dynamic Islamic theology. The theological lines we contemplate are those signed in the Amman Message in 2004, which recognizes the Islamic tradition and the legitimacy of diversity in its schools of thought. In addition, we propose hermeneutics and critical thinking as our most important tools to work on classic and current issues.
What are the topics of interest for the Ibn Masarra Islamic Thought Forum?
Acting as a think tank, our thematic spectrum is very broad and diverse. We are committed to Islamic humanism, as a pillar of our thinking. We work from Islamic theology (kalām), to ethics (akhlaq), in addition to the philosophy of Islamic law or the tafsīr of the Qur’an. We also do, from disciplines more along the lines of the Western tradition, contemporary thought and political philosophy (citizenship, civil ethics, etc.). We are also interested in the theological developments of Halal and Islamic economics, as well as current theological issues such as eco-theology, feminist theology and gender equality, science and theology or social theology among others.