The Scholars Page A-D

Abbas Ahsan is researcher in the Philosophy Department at Birmingham University, England. Although his broad research interest finds itself at the intersection between analytic philosophy and Islamic theology, his specific interests include examining non-classical (paraconsistent) logic, theories of truth and methodological issues underpinning philosophical investigations. His recent articles include 'The Paradox of an Absolute Ineffable God of Islam' (2019); 'God Beyond the Boundary-Stones of Thought' (2020) and 'The Logical Inconsistency in Making Sense of an Ineffable God of Islam' (2020). He is currently editor for a special edition of the European Journal of Analytic Philosophy (EJAP) that will explore how the Islamic theological and philosophical tradition can converse with the analytic tradition of philosophy. 

Dr. Mashhad is interested in human knowledge and learning activities. His interest in multidisciplinary fields has been reflected in his publications; some of his books and articles reflecting a wide variety of topics covering: Western and Islamic Philosophy, 20th century Analytic Philosophy, Islamic Studies, Islamic Sciences, and Ethics. He has taught a wide range of interdisciplinary courses on Philosophy, Religion, Islamic Studies, Ethical Theories, Biomedical Ethics, and Critical Thinking in different universities in the USA, and other places. He is interested in providing a multicultural academic approach to teaching and research. A full list of his publications can be found here.

In his own words: 

I am a professor in the Department of Philosophy at San Francisco State University where I also serve as Department Chair. I received my PhD from the University of Virginia (1999) and joined the faculty at SFSU after postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University (1999-2002). In my writing, I bring Islamic philosophers (especially those in the Persian traditions) into dialogue with the leading participants in contemporary philosophical trends. 

Mehmet graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Theology in 2003. He completed his MA at Marmara University Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Kalam (2005). After teaching at the Ministry of National Education for a while, he was appointed as a lecturer at the Department of Theology at Marmara University, Faculty of Theology in 2012. In the same year, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled 'An Evaluation of Classical Kalam Atomism in in Relation to Contemporary Cosmology'. He has completed numerous post-doctoral research programmes including McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies (2014) and Syracuse University in the United States all specialising in Islamic kalam. He became an associate professor in 2017. He is one of the editors for Debates in Contemporary Kalam (Güncel Kelam Tartışmaları).

Saf studied Philosophy at Kings College London completing it with the accompanying Associate of Kings College (AKC) award. He then travelled to Cairo studying the traditional Islamic Studies curricula at al-Azhar University. He returned to the UK to complete His MA at the School of Oriental and African studies with distinction. His doctoral dissertation was on the eminent Sufi hagiographer and theoretician Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 412/1021) published as A Sufi Apologist of Nishapur: The Life and Thought of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 2019). Saf’s research interests in addition to Sufism at the moment are in paraconsistent logic, argument theory, metaphysics, ethics and epistemology with keen interest in how these subjects are explicated within Islamic theology – especially within kalam theology. His current book is entitled Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil (New York and Cairo: AUC Press, 2021) which is the first work in Islamic studies to treat the topic within the analytic theology approach. He also teaches Hanafi fiqh and Arabic. Currenty, he is lead researcher in the Beyond Foundationalism: New Horizons in Muslim Analytic Theology project at Cambridge Muslim College which is funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Saf is the creator and adminstrator of the Islamic Analytic Theology website, the only site specifically devoted to the presentation and promotion of research and study of Islamic theology and philosophy within the analytic tradition.

In his own words:

I'm a philosophy and theology student based in the USA. My academic interests are in 'ilm al-kalam, philosophy of religion, phenomenology, hermeneutics, rhetorical poets, and literature. I write at my personal blog https://interpretingthesigns.substack.com/