YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/YHP5KCXGg6A?si=Q8g91uDYTkYanewf
In the introduction to the Surah 6: An'am Halaqa at the Usuli Institute, our Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Josef Linnhoff shares his experiences converting to Islam, and his path to Usuli. For more, visit:
www.usuli.org.
YouTube Video:10th annual Ibn Rushd lecture: ‘On the Margins: The Life and Contribution of Muhammad Asad’- Josef Linnhoff- Muslim Institute- August 7,2025
The Muslim Institute 10th Ibn Rushd lecture. Wednesday July 30th July, Artworkers Guild, Bloomsbury, central London. “Why is it that, even after finding my place among the people who believe in the things that I myself have come to believe, I have struck no root?” Muhammad Asad, The Road to Mecca. The Austro-Hungarian Jewish convert to Islam, Muhammad Asad (1900-92), was one of the most remarkable Muslim thinkers of the last century. Best known for his iconic autobiography, The Road to Mecca, Asad’s long career stretched almost the entire twentieth century and offers a window into many social, political and intellectual trends of modern Islam. Asad wrote widely in many genres of Islamic thought, from Qur’an translation to hadith commentary, political theory to Islamic law, and made notable contributions to each. Yet, Asad remains a marginal figure whose ideas have not received the interest and attention they deserve. Many of his works remain little-known today and some of his most important contributions—on anti-Zionism, or Islamic legal reform—have been entirely overlooked. His magnum opus, The Message of the Qur’an, reveals a mastery of the Islamic intellectual tradition that has yet to be recognized or examined. Over three decades since his death in 1992, we still await a comprehensive biography of Asad in English. All these issues, and more, are addressed in this 2025 Muslim Institute Ibn Rushd Annual lecture. Dr Josef Linnhoff combines a biographical sketch of Asad with a close look at some of his most important works. Linnhoff sheds light on overlooked aspects of Asad’s thought, challenge some misconceptions around Asad, and explore his complex relationship with the Muslim community of his day, asking why Asad found himself “on the margins,” in his own time and in the years since. The result is a deeper understanding and appreciation of the life and legacy of one of the most important, if neglected, Muslim thinkers of recent times.
Josef Linnhoff holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Edinburgh (2020). He is Editor-in-Chief and Research Fellow at The Institute for Advanced Usuli Studies (“The Usuli Institute”) in Columbus, Ohio. He has published on various aspects of the life and thought of Muhammad Asad and is Editor of the forthcoming volume - The Life, Thought and Legacy of Muhammad Asad: Essays on Modern Muslim Reform - which will be published by Edinburgh University. The Muslim Institute, founded in 1971, is an independent Fellowship society of thinkers, academics, artists, creatives and professionals, funded by its Waqf – Trust – and the fees paid by its Fellows. It aims to support the growth of thought, knowledge, research, creativity and open debate within the Muslim community and wider society; and promotes community empowerment and self-reliance. The global history of ideas includes a handful of names whose contributions have stood the test of time: among those most celebrated is the twelfth century Muslim polymath Abu ‘l-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd (1126-1198), known to the Latin West as ‘Averroes’. Ibn Rushd was a master of philosophy, theology, law and jurisprudence, astronomy, geography, mathematics, medicine, physics and psychology. He is seen as a founding father of secular thought in Western Europe, where his school of philosophy is known as Averroism. In the Muslim world, he is known largely for his defence of philosophy from theological attacks, particularly by scholastic theologian al-Ghazali (1058-1111). Today, all over the world, streets, statues and postage-stamps commemorate the life and works of one of the most important philosophers of all time. The Muslim Institute’s series of lectures, in honour of Ibn Rushd, which are intended to explore the contemporary relevance of Islam’s intellectual history are delivered annually in early summer by notable academics and thinkers.
www.musliminstitute.org www.criticalmuslim.com
Ph.D Thesis pdf:‘Associating' with God in Islamic Thought: A Comparative Study of Muslim Interpretation of Shirk: Josef Linnhoff- The University of Edinburg
Amazon:Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women:Khaled Abou El Fadl
This challenging new book reviews the ethics at the heart of the Islamic legal system, and suggests that these laws have been misinterpreted by certain sources in an attempt to control women.
Khaled Abou E1-Fadl studied Islamic Law in Egypt and Kuwait, and has from Pennsylvania, Yale and Princeton. Currently Professor of Law at UCLA, he has served on a variety of committees for Human Rights, and has published several books and numerous articles.
PH.D Thesis pdf:The Hermeneutics of Renewal in Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Writings:Arwa Abahussain-Cardiff University
Amazon:The Prophet's Pulpit: Commentaries on the State of Islam-Khaled Abou El Fadl, Josef Linnhoff
In this collection of twenty-two Islamic sermons, Khaled Abou El Fadl, distinguished law professor and classically trained Islamic jurist, delivers incisive commentaries on the current state of Islam and the Muslim world from the symbolic pulpit of the Prophet of Islam. Part Qur'anic exegesis and part socio-ethical commentary, this volume showcases the knowledge, enlightenment, and dedication to justice that once propelled the Islamic civilization to great heights of human achievement. It attempts to illuminate the spiritual and ethical path forward for Muslims amid the challenges of injustice, oppression, and the rising tide of Islamophobia in our world.
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, and founder of the Institute for Advanced Usuli Studies (The Usuli Institute). He is a classically trained Islamic jurist. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Islam and Islamic jurisprudence. Among his books are: Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age, The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books, Speaking in God's Name: Islamic law, Authority and Women, And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, and Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law. He is the recipient of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) 2020 Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion.
Dr. Josef Linnhoff holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. His work has been published in The Muslim World, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, and Critical Muslim. He is Editor-in-Chief of Project Illumine: The Light of the Quran, a multi-year project at The Usuli Institute to publish the first English-language Qur'anic commentary in over forty years. Before joining The Usuli Institute, he worked as a Researcher for BBC Monitoring in London.
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