Dialogue of Civilizations: Islam and the West

Professor Majid Fakhry
Synopsis of the lecture:
There is a widespread contention that the world is on the irreversible
course of global conflict, designated by Samuel Huntington in his 1996 book
entitled The Clash of Civilizations. In the present lecture, Professor
Fakhry hopes to show that the grounds on which this contention is based are
tenuous. Islam was in constant interaction with ancient or Greek
civilization in the eighth-eleventh centuries, and in the second half of the
twelfth century, Islam entered into active cultural contact with the Latin
West. During both periods, major works of Greek philosophy, science and
medicine were rendered into Arabic, later translated into Latin, initiating
thereby the so-called period of European Renaissance of the 15th Century.

Professor Majid Fakhry is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the American
University of Beirut and Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, a position he has
held since 1998. Professor Fakhry earned his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy
from AUB, and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University in 1949. He has held
positions as Lecturer at London University, Associate Professor of
Philosophy at Georgetown University and Visiting Research Scholar at both
Oxford University and Princeton University. Professor Fakhry's publications
include: History of Islamic Philosophy (3rd Edition, 2004); Ethical Theories
in Islam (1991); Averroes: His Life and Works (2001); Al-Farabi: Founder of
Islamic Neoplatonism (2002) and Interpretation of the Meanings of the Qur'an
(2002). Professor Fakhry also has numerous publications in Arabic, the most
recent of which is Dirasat Fil-Fikr Al-'Arabi (2007).

Category:

Education

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• Beirut
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• CAMES
• Majid
• Fakhry

[consuetudinariness]

@alkantre This Professor Fakhri is a knowledgeable person, but there are traces of bias in his scholarship (e.g., A History of Islamic Philosophy). In other words, he discusses some issues from the perspective of a Sunni, so he is not fair in the aforementioned book. Fairness is one of the standards of critical thinking.

And yes, the Arabs owe a lot to the Persians, as Fakhri has reluctantly acknowledged in his work.

[consuetudinariness]

@tigersforchrist Your book has been distorted and is not credible. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was in favor of peace and the well-being of his followers (and all other people in the world). Do not post balderdash on YouTube, forasmuch as there are people who will respond to your stupidity.

[alkantre]

Excellent presentation from a true scholar. I have been talking about Moorish civilization and especially the contributions of Ibn Rushd in my classes here at UTPA.