BOOK TALK: God, Evil, and Suffering in Islam
Professor Salih Sayilgan explores the problem of evil and suffering in Islamic theology along with the questions that both religious and non-religious people alike perennially ask:
Why is there evil and suffering?
What is God’s role in both natural and moral evil?
If God is loving, just, powerful, why is there innocent suffering?
Do humans have free will or are they predestined to act in a certain way?
Examining both theoretical and practical theodicy in Islam, Prof Sayilgan provides Muslim perspectives on natural and moral evil in light of Islamic theological concepts. He interrogates several specific topics related to evil and suffering, including death, sickness, ageing, disability, climate change, and pandemics. These topics are explored through case studies from the lives of Muslims, with particular attention given to the American context. A comparative and dialogical study, Sayilgan’s volume also engages with Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Christian approaches, as well as non-religious perspectives.
Date: 9 October 2024, 18:00 (Wednesday, 0th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue: Online
Speakers: Professor Salih Sayilgan (Georgetown University), Dr Peter Admirand (Dublin City University), Prof Syed Atif Rizwan (Oxford Interfaith Forum)
Organisers: Dr Thea Gomelauri (Oxford Interfaith Forum), Oxford Interfaith Forum (Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: oxfordfaiths@gmail.com
Host: Oxford Interfaith Forum (Oxford)
Part of: Philosophy in Interfaith Contexts
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/book-launch/god-evil-and-suffering-in-islam/
Booking email: oxfordfaiths@gmail.com
Cost: 0
Audience: Public
Editor: Thea Gomelauri