brochure 2012 - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

The work of the Research Unit Intellectual History of
the Islamicate World and its research areas
Executive Summary
Intellectual richness and unparalleled variety characterize the Islamicate
world throughout its history and a fundamental understanding
of the intellectual history of the Islamic cultural sphere is possible
only if research is not confined within denominational boundaries. The
Qurʾān regards itself as the last, perfect link in a chain of progressive
divine revelations. It is, thus, very much aware of its own generic
linkage to the two preceding monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity.
The early Muslims adopted many Jewish and Christian elements
as they had evolved during Late Antiquity. Christians and Jews were
also involved in shaping Muslim intellectual history in subsequent
centuries. From the 9th century CE Muslims, Christians and Jews shared
a common everyday and cultural language, Arabic, which they used
to communicate ideas, concepts and texts, and the ensuing exchange was
mutually enriching. For centuries representatives of all three religions
read a very similar canon, especially in the so-called rational sciences
(theology, philosophy, aspects of legal methodology, the natural sciences,
and medicine) and belles lettres and thus contributed to its development.
The dynamic was multi-dimensional. Christian and Jewish authors influenced
Islamic thought, while the writings of Muslim thinkers had an
impact on non-Muslims. Interreligious interaction is a historical fact
that continues into the modern age.
While this has been amply demonstrated for some selected periods and
regions, scholars usually opt for a one-dimensional approach with an (often
exclusive) focus on either Muslim, Jewish or Christian authors and
their writings. In all three fields and for a variety of reasons, the scholarly
investigation of the “rational sciences” beyond denominational borders is
still in the beginning phase. This calls for an entirely new framework
for innovative research that systematically crosses the boundaries
between three major disciplines of academia and research, viz. Islamic
Studies, Jewish Studies and the study of Eastern Christianity.
This approach characterizes the work carried out at the Research Unit
Intellectual History of the Islamicate World.
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Detailed Description of the Research Areas and the Current
Projects:
Critical Avicennism in the Islamic East of the 12th century
The reception of the philosophy of Avicenna (d. 1037) in the Islamic and
Christian West has been documented for some time. Less understood is
the reception of Avicenna’s philosophy in the East of the Islamic
world, where it occurred on a much greater scale and proved much more
momentous. Two hundred years after the death of Avicenna, major con-
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