FU UIN Jakarta holds webinar on Islamic philosophy in the west

FU, UIN News Online – Islamic philosophy in the West is characterized by strong criticism, especially in a rational and empirical frame. This has influenced not only the tradition of Western intellectualism, but also the Eastern tradition or in this context the tradition of Islamic intellectualism. Among the great philosophers who emerged in the 12th century in Andalusia / Spain was Ibn Rushd. Through the translation of his texts, he was dubbed as a "commentator" and had an influence on the development of Islamic philosophy in the West.

This is the background of the importance of Islamic philosophy in studies in Spain. This series of studies, which was held by the Faculty of Ushuluddin (FU) UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and the Sadra Institute in organizing a virtual public lecture entitled “Pertemuan Tradisi Besar Pemikiran Barat dan Timur”, Monday (03/08/2021).

Moderated by Agus Darmaji, this webinar invites Ushuluddin faculty professor of UIN Jakarta Mulyadhi Kartanegara, and the graduate school director of IAIN Ponorogo Aksin Wijaya.

Aksin Wijaya in his presentation explained that Islam always had a dialogue with human civilization. Without having a dialogue with human civilization, he continued,  Islamic teaching will become outdated.

“The dialogue gave birth to various Islamic scientific disciplines. The dialogue between Islam and Arab civilization, with Bayani's epistemology, gave birth to the scientific disciplines of Fiqh and the Kalam Science. Islamic dialogue with Persia with Irfani epistemology gave birth to Sufism, and Islamic dialogue with Greece with Burhani epistemology gave birth to Islamic philosophy,” he said.

Meawhile, Mulyadhi Kartanegara in his presentation discusses more about the historical traces of Islamic thought in the West. “This was preceded by the tolerant attitude of the Caliphate in Andalusia, which was filled with an intellectual atmosphere. According to Karen Armstrong, life in Andalusia under the auspices of the Andalusian caliphate, as in other Islamic caliphates, was very peaceful,” said Mulyadhi.

Furthermore, Mulyadhi also explained about Averroism and the European reaction to it.

“Averroism is a school of medieval philosophy based on the application of Ibn Rushd's works. Translations of Ibn Rushd's work into Latin became widely available in universities that sprang up in Western Europe in the 13th century, and were accepted by scholastic figures such as Sigerus of Brabant and Boetius of Dacia,” he said.

He also added that the Averroes theory was coined by Thomas Aquinas with a limited meaning to monompsychosis and panpskism in his book entitled De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas.

“In modern times, it can be seen from one of the leading supporters for the revival of Averroes' thought in Islamic society, namely Muhammed Abed al-Jabiri, with his work entitled Critique de la Raison Arabe (Critique of the Arab's Reason) in 1982,” he concluded. (usa/man/fu)