The McMillan Report: Interview with Professor Frank Griffel

Host and Guest

• Host: Marilyn Wils
• Guest: Frank Griffel, Professor of Islamic Studies at Yale University

Professor Griffel's Expertise

• Intellectual history of Islam
• Islamic Theology
• Islamic thinkers' reactions to Western modernity
• Published widely in Islamic theology, Arab/Islamic philosophy, Islamic law, Muslim intellectual history

Discussion Topic: Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology

Overview of Al-Ghazali

• One of the most important theologians and thinkers in the Islamic world
• Widely read throughout history and continues to be so today
• Lived at the turn of the 12th century
• Era marked by intellectual activity in natural sciences, philosophy, and theology

Inspiration for the Book

• Long-standing fascination with Al-Ghazali
• Al-Ghazali's role in formulating what was regarded as Islamic orthodoxy
• Interest in his position between Aristotelian tradition (falsafa) and Islamic theology
• Challenge the view that Al-Ghazali opposed and defeated Islamic philosophy

Research Methodology

• Focus on reading primary texts and manuscripts
• Discovered many texts still only available in manuscript form
• Worked with manuscripts in European and Middle Eastern libraries

Differing Views on Al-Ghazali

• Traditional View: Al-Ghazali destroyed the tradition of Islamic philosophy
• Professor Griffel's View: Al-Ghazali integrated philosophical traditions into Islamic theology

Key Points in the Book

1. Life of Al-Ghazali: New Insights
   • New insights from his Persian letters
   • These letters offered personal insights and context for his work
2. Al-Ghazali's Students:
   • Analyzed how students perceived his teachings
   • Looked for consistent themes and teachings
3. Cosmology:
   • Definition: Theory of how the world is constructed
   • Medieval view linked cosmology closely to God’s creation
   • Occasionalism vs. Secondary Causality:
     • Occasionalism: God creates everything anew in every moment
     • Secondary Causality: God creates via causal laws
   • Al-Ghazali held both views as not contradictory but complementary

Surprising Findings

• Al-Ghazali's actual birth date differs from what is in current records
• Al-Ghazali's modern approach to science
  • Contrary to the belief that he destroyed science in Islam
  • Supported scientific inquiry within a theological framework
  • Cosmology would align with modern scientific ideas like the Big Bang as God’s creation

Conclusion

• Al-Ghazali sought a theological explanation that rested on rationalist traditions while supporting sciences
• Encouraged a cosmology acknowledging God as the creator but allowing scientific exploration

Closing

• For more information, visit Yale's McMillan Report website
• Episode made possible by the Whitney and Betty McMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale