An opportunity to deep-dive into Islam and Muslim civilisations, history and spirituality through the ages, accompanied by some of the best experts and academic...
S2 Ep 4: Al Maqrizi, Egypt's Most Famous Historian with Nasser Rabbat
Maqrizi, Egypt’s most famous historian
Hello again and welcome to our fourth episode of Muslim Footprints Season 2! It’s on Al Maqrizi, the most influential historian of Egypt before modern times. That’s all the way from the Pharaohs, through to the 15th century! Telling us his story is Professor Nasser Rabbat, head of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Art and Architecture at MIT.
So, why should we care about a medieval Egyptian historian? Well, he left a rich legacy of writings that offer a window into the social, economic, and cultural life of the medieval Islamic world. His meticulous documentation of Cairo's history was used centuries later by the Ottomans to understand the land they had inherited. It was also appropriated by Napoleon’s teams for their monumental Description de l’Égypte, so his work became the go-to source for anyone studying the country.
Maqrizi’s writing continues to influence the nation to this day. Egyptian nationalists in the 20th century considered him as the voice of the true Egyptian, while novelists and poets referred to him as the embodiment of resistance to corruption and oppression. Professor Rabbat calls him a rebel: Maqrizi’s commentaries remind us of the importance of looking critically at our own societies and learning from history’s successes and failures - a theme that resonates across time and cultures.
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1:02:52
S2 Ep 3: Al Kindi, The Father of Arab Philosophy with Peter Adamson
Al Kindi, The Father of Arab Philosophy
Great to see you for our third episode, which features Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London.
The way the story of philosophy has been presented is that it started with the ancient Greeks, and then you had the Renaissance, followed by the Enlightenment and then all the way to today. Professor Adamson is keen to tell us what happened in the 2,000-year gap between those famous Greeks - Socrates or Plato or Aristotle - and Thomas Aquinas, described as a founding figure of modern thought.
Professor Adamson has hosted a podcast since 2010 called the History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. He’s also a specialist on Al Kindi, often known as the first Arab philosopher. Enjoy!
Are you enjoying Season 2?
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1:00:19
S2 Ep 2: Seeing Religion: Islam and the Devotional Object with Richard McGregor
It’s great to see you again and we hope you enjoyed the start of Season 2!
Our second episode features Richard McGregor, Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University. The episode focuses on his work around material objects in islam.
We explore the significance of objects in Islamic religious practices, including a study of the Mahmal and the role it played for 700 years in the Hajj ritual. Professor McGregor discusses how objects serve as powerful symbols of devotion and community, and how their historical and cultural contexts shape their meanings. The conversation also addresses the evolution of relics, opposition to devotional objects in modern times, and the power of museums in shaping how religious material culture is preserved and experienced.
The episode concludes with a discussion about why broadening our understanding of religion to encompass its material and spiritual dimensions matters.
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1:13:29
S2 Ep 1: Tales from Muslim Lands with Professor David Damrosch
Our first episode features David Damrosch, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Institute for World Literature. The episode focuses on his work, “Around the World in 80 books”.
Entitled Tales from Muslim Lands, Professor Damrosch takes us through examples of key works from three regions - the Middle East, where he gives examples of Stories Within Stories; Palestine/Israel, which he unites under the theme Strangers in a Strange Land, and Persia, where he takes us from Tehran to Shiraz - showing both the diversity of Muslim narratives and emphasising the interconnectedness of stories across cultures.
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1:06:49
Ep 10: Being an ambassador of the faith, with Souleymane Bachir Diagne
For our final episode of this season we are delighted to welcome Professor Soulaymane Bachir Diagne, who teaches at Columbia University, and is one of the world's most distinguished philosophers.
Professor Diagne guides us through his autobiography, "Le Fagot de Ma Memoire." Le fagot is a bundle of twigs. In Francophone Africa it refers to the wood that’s used to make a fire. Here, Professor Diagne has collected the twigs of his memory, interweaving the story of his professional trajectory, and the Muslim beliefs and motivations that have guided him.
We'd love to know what you think of our Muslim Footprints Podcast - please share your thoughts at the.ismaili/feedback
An opportunity to deep-dive into Islam and Muslim civilisations, history and spirituality through the ages, accompanied by some of the best experts and academics in their field.
Join us as we discover how Muslim societies and individuals have lived, thought about, and expressed their faith in their own ways as a pathway to the divine. We explore the far-flung lands that Muslims have lived in, the traditions – scientific, artistic, religious and cultural – they’ve contributed to, and the revelation itself, the Qur’an.
Our guests have devoted their professional lives to producing robust scholarship about the rich heritage of Islam. Our mission is to bring that knowledge to our listeners – Muslim and non-Muslim alike – so as to better understand the world and address some of the biggest questions about life and meaning.
This podcast is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning more about Islam and its contributions to the world.
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