Reading the Muslim philosophers of the Golden Age, roughly the eighth to 13th centuries C.E., can help both Muslims and non-Muslims see beyond the stereotypes of Islam as a reactionary and radical faith, says Hussain Nadim.

George Washington University senior Hussain Nadim

Nadim, a senior at George Washington University studying international affairs who grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, is author of “The Forgotten Father: Muslim Philosophers of the Golden Age,” which the Lahore-based Caravan Book House published in December 2009.
On a visit to Pakistan in 2008 over winter break, Nadim noticed many of his peers in Pakistani universities were unfamiliar with the Golden Age philosophers.

“Muslim students in Pakistan and around the world have little or no knowledge of Islam’s liberal and intellectual past and have come to see philosophy as a subject questioning God and, therefore, blasphemous,” writes Nadim via e-mail from Oxford University, where he is currently on a GW Pembroke College/University of Oxford fellowship.

In the book, Nadim had two explicit goals. He wants to teach Muslims about their own philosophical traditions, so they realize how liberal their ancestors really were. He also wants to “ignite a flame of philosophical discussion” amongst Muslim youth to cultivate a “revival” of the study of philosophy in the Islamic world.

“The book is my response to this growing radicalization, especially in Pakistan,” he says.

Nadim’s book addresses nine philosophers: Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Al-Ghazzali, Nasir-ud-din-Tusi, Al-Kindi, Suharwardy, Al-Beruni and Ibn Taymmayah. “I decided on these philosophers, because they were highly influential in their age and beyond,” he says. “For instance, Al-Kindi saved the works of Greek philosophy by translating them into Arabic, and Nasir-ud-din-Tusi’s work on astronomy has been so well recognized in the West that a lunar crater is named after him.”

The most striking common theme that Nadim found in the writings of the nine philosophers was their critical questioning of Islam and their appreciation of innovation (“bidah”).

According to Nadim, the 13th-century philosopher Ibn Taymayyah is to blame for the Islamic movement to oppose bidah. Although Ibn Taymayyah is considered a philosopher in his own right, he placed a permanent ban on the study of philosophy in the Islamic world.

“Modern extremist movements like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda derive their ideology from Ibn Taymayyah,” says Nadim. “Such has been the impact of his work.”

The impact has also trickled down to Pakistani schools, which do not feature philosophy in their curricula. “Over the years, the significance of great philosophers like Al-Farabi and Nasir-ud-din-Tusi has been washed away,” says Nadim. “Even in my own case, I got to know about most of these philosophers once I enrolled in GW and took courses with Muhammad Faghfoory who introduced me to this subject.”

To research the book, Nadim mostly relied on primary source materials. Sometimes, he found it necessary to turn to secondary sources to interpret particularly complicated ideas. The book, which was published in English, will soon be translated into Urdu for a larger publication run. In its second month of publication, the book is already on the curriculum at Lahore Alma, a local school, and talks are underway with other schools, Nadim says.

In addition to crediting his professor at GW with exposing him to the important philosophers who were absent in his grade school curriculum, Nadim says his studies at GW have strategically situated him to take advantage of valuable experiences at the Hudson Institute and the Embassy of Pakistan, where he helped start the National Pakistani Students Association.

“One of the best things about studying at GW has been the number of internship opportunities available,” he says.

Reprinted with permission from George Washington Today.