Workshop Title: Youth and Moral Autonomy in the Digital Age
Mutaz al-khatib is Assistant Professor of Methodologies and history of Islamic Ethics at Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE) and College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha, Qatar. He studied Islamic Studies in Damascus (BA, 1997) and studies Arabic Literature at al-Azhar University in Cairo. Al-Khatib was a founding member of the Intellectual Forum for Innovation (1999), and the anchor of Al-sharia and Life program on Al-Jazeera Channel, (2004 -2013). He acted as Editor-in-Chief of the section “Islam and Contemporary Affairs” on IslamOnline.net (2003-2008). He was a visiting fellow at Zentrum Moderner Orien (ZMO) in Berlin (2006), and a visiting scholar at the Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin (2012-2013). Al-Khatib was a Visiting Lecturer at the American University of Beirut, the Islamic University of Beirut and Qatar University.
Workshop Title: The Production and Communication of Islamic Research in the Contemporary World
Dr Harvey is the Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Ebrahim College in London and lectures on the BA in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College. He received his MA and PhD from SOAS, University of London. His research focuses on Qur’anic studies, philosophical theology and ethics, both studying the intellectual history of these disciplines and making his own contemporary interventions. Dr Harvey’s first book, The Qur’an and the Just Society, was published by Edinburgh University Press. He is currently writing a monograph in constructive Muslim theology, drawing especially from the Māturīdī tradition. He is also the editor of a new series for Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology.
In the digital age, many things are done by computer and large amount of information are available. Although, this fluidity of knowledge opens rich avenues to develop moral autonomous agents, it also raises questions about responsibility and autonomy of the users especially the youth. What are the sources of our moral judgments? How does social media affect our decisions? Does it undermine or strengthen the youth moral autonomy? How can they decide what is right or wrong from between contradicting opinions? What are the criterion to follow? This presentation will highlight the role of the individuals in moral reasoning and decision-making through discussing several concepts like rational and emotional, internal and external arguments.
The contemporary world poses many new questions for Islamic scholarship to answer. While traditional teaching methodologies remain important for mastering core texts and disciplines, academic institutions must address theoretical challenges that arise due to developments in human knowledge and practical problems thrown up by advances in technology and changes in society. This workshop will invite students to discuss the difference between traditional textual study and academic research, to reflect on the concept of ‘Islamic research’ and how it may be produced, and to explore the purposes and means for communicating it to a literate global audience.
