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Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Frankie Martin and Dr. Amineh Hoti

The Islamic scholar Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi, or Alpharabius, as he was known in the Latin West, lived over a thousand years ago and was one of the most influential philosophers of history.  Among his greatest contributions were incorporating Greek philosophy into the Islamic tradition and founding the field of political philosophy in Islam.  Al-Farabi, who also had a profound impact on the West, provided a unitary framework in which science and reason could be reconciled with revelation and religion.  Al-Farabi was known as "the Second Master," the First Master being Aristotle. 

Al-Farabi was also a champion of interfaith dialogue and understanding, and argued that all religions represent a human attempt to understand God which is expressed in different ways.  He produced a body of brilliant and original, indeed pioneering, intellectual work.  He provided a way to comprehend and appreciate the beliefs and identities of others, which helped promote harmony in society without compromising dignity, integrity, and honor.  

And yet, today Al-Farabi is lamentably little known and his ideas are obscure.  We are more likely to remember his many disciples who went on to shape the societies and intellectual traditions of both East and West, providing the foundation for movements such as the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment, than the master himself.  

In their latest Working Paper in the series, Mitchell Institute International Advisory Board Member Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and co-authors Frankie Martin and Dr Amineh Hoti introduce and discuss Al-Farabi’s ideas concerning how to understand and reach out to the “Other” and promote human coexistence.  For the authors, Al-Farabi is a great “Mingler,” someone who embraces the “Other” regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or nation. 

In his work, Al-Farabi analyzed human society with its great diversity and attempted to overcome what he understood as the barriers to human coexistence. He thought deeply about how relations could be improved, particularly between people of different religions, cultures, and languages.  At the core of his message is dialogue with the “Other” and enlarging circles of human association and fraternity in love, and he offers practical steps through which this may be accomplished.  He presents an ideal of human unity to pursue.  

At a time in which the planet is consumed by religious, ethnic, and national conflict, Al-Farabi can help us ameliorate our current difficult situation and change course. In Al-Farabi’s ideas we have an optimistic vision for facilitating greater accord, peace, dialogue, and coexistence between diverse peoples.  We could not ask for a better guide and teacher in pursuing these noble goals.

Read the paper here.