Islamic Philosophy: Past and Present

Dear Colleagues,

What is Islamic philosophy? What are its historical antecedents? Its contemporary forms and functions? What is the relationship of falsafa (philosophy proper) to kalām (theology) and taṣawuff (mysticism) in Islam? What relevance might insights gleaned from Islamic philosophy, past and present, have for contemporary global concerns? Inasmuch as the term Islamic philosophy can be imagined as a coherent description for a set of histories, anthropologies, ontologies, epistemologies, and political philosophies rooted in a peculiarly Muslim experience of the revelation and of the world, how might it provide us with novel accounts of both this world and of the many issues facing it today? And what might it offer as possible terms of engagement with, and dare one say “solutions” to, these issues?

The modern age presents us with deeply perplexing problems and scenarios. This Special Issue will investigate the nexus of Islamic Philosophy, broadly defined, and escalating contemporary concerns including, but not limited, to emerging technologies such as (1) artificial intelligence, (2) virtual reality, and (3) biomedical engineering; looming issues such as (4) climate change, (5) automation, and (6) interplanetary travel; and other issues such as (7) crises of modern political life, etc. The existing literature in Islam and science, Islamic environmentalism, and Islamic law and political philosophy represents tentative first steps taken in this direction. This Special Issue hopes to portend a more robust and sustained engagement.

Scholars from a wide range of humanistic and social science disciplines are invited to submit articles for this Special Issue. We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please e-mail it to Khurram Hussain ([email protected]) and/or to the Religions editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Dr. Khurram Hussain
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Islamic philosophy
• artificial intelligence
• climate change
• kalam
• Muslims
• taṣawuff
• modern Islam
• global challenges
• crisis of democracy
• falsafa
• modernity