Approaches to Pluralism in Muslim Contexts

Speakers' Profile

Professor Jonathan Rée

Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Professor Rée studied English and American Studies at University of Sussex and later went to Oxford to study Philosophy. In 1972 he joined Middlesex Polytechnic as a Lecturer and in 2001 became a Professor of Philosophy and Cultural History. Professor Rée has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University and a Senior Research Fellow at University of Virginia. He has been an executive member of numerous committees such as: Philosophy in Britain, Forum for European Philosophy and British Society for the History of Philosophy. He is the author of more than a dozen of books including: Descartes (1974), Proletarian Philosophers (1984), Philosophical Tales (1987), Heidegger (1998) and I see a Voice (1999).  His interests and writings range from continental philosophy to African philosophy and from literature to science. His articles have appeared in various British and American journals such as Prospect, London Review of Books, Radical Philosophy, History and Theory.

Professor Ridwan Al-Sayyid

Born in Tarshish, Lebanon, Professor Ridwan Al-Sayyid studied Islamic Studies at al-Azhar University in Cairo and later received his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Tubingen.  He began his academic work as a Lecturer at the Lebanese University and as a Research Fellow at the University of Tubingen. From 1993 to 1997, Professor Al-Sayyid was a Visiting Professor at Harvard University and University of Chicago. He was the Director at the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Beirut and later the Director of the Arab Development Institute. He is the editor- in- chief of al-Ijtihad published in Beirut. He is the author and editor of many books in Arabic and German, including Die Revolte des Ibn al-Ash’ath und die Koranleser and Azmat al Fikr as Siyasi al-Arabi. His articles have appeared in various Arabic and European journals such as Al-Hiwar and Al-Abhath.