Islam has increasingly been a point of discussion in the Netherlands over the past few years, but how much do most people actually know. A class held at TU Delft called ‘The School of Life: Freethinkers of Islam’ invited staff and students to learn about Islam, its history, and particularly Islamic philosophy.
The class, one in a series held in the TU Delft Library June 9, was organised by Studium Generale (SG) and Sports and Culture (SC) and was led by Tarik Yusif, a lecturer, entrepreneur and self-described ‘Muslim atheist’. Interestingly, when Yusif asked how many people in the audience were Muslim, no one raised their hands and of the very small group, primarily students, only three identified as religious at all. The class started with a brief look at Ancient Greek Philosophy, tracing how Aristotelian logic became prevalent in the thinking of a number of great Islamic philosophers, as well as providing a brief introduction to the formation and spread of Islam.
Introducing a number of well-known philosophers, Yusif also outlined the schools of Islam, keen to emphasise that it is not monolithic. He added that Islamic philosophy differs from philosophy in the Islamic world which has contained individuals of numerous religions throughout the years. Though a brief overview, attendees asked a number of interested questions.
There was also a lengthy and lively discussion at the end of the class which lasted well over an hour. One attendee stated that as an antitheist he believes all religion leads to ‘bad societies’, something Yusif and several other attendees contested. There were also questions about identity, and labels and a particularly poignant discussion about becoming Muslim, with Tarik posing that while it is easy to become a Muslim, it is more difficult to be a Muslim.
The ‘School of Life’ is a group with branches all over the world which aims to develop emotional intelligence through culture and how to live ‘wisely’. There will be a number of other School of Life classes and programs organised at TU Delft with SG and SC.
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