a philosophical salon à l’arabe, provides all those interested an opportunity to discuss current topics relating to the Arab world. The language of each Diwan is predefined in the invite (German, Arabic, or English); contributions can however be made in Arabic and German and English and will be translated as best possible into the language of the respective diwan. The monthly philosophical salon start with a 5-10 min. introduction to the predefined topic, followed by a moderated discussion amongst all participants, and end in an informal gathering.
Since its launch the following topics have been discussed in the Diwan: Unlimited Freedom of Speech? – Heimat: home&belonging – Alienness – Do social media foster freedom of speech? – Religion and Violence – Fundamentalism – Political Maturity – Utopia as a Necessity – Stateless nations: Problem or Chance? – Identity – Islam and the Civil Society – Post-Secularism – Modernism and Modernity – Humanistic Islam – Individualism & Islam – Integration
Our FIRST event since the breakout of COVID-19! Wars, conflicts and persecution in several regions of Africa and Asia have driven millions of migrants from their homes, looking for safer, more stable and more free areas in the West. Although refugees and migrants came to their countries of asylum to live a better reality, many […]
Continue ReadingThe hashtag ‘#My Palestinian Sitty’, a phrase coined by the democratic US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, is trending on social media: My Palestinian Grandma. Lots of Palestinian users both in Palestine and in the diaspora keep uploading pictures of and comments on their grandmothers onto Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and you might wonder, what’s so special […]
Continue ReadingThis Diwan will be held mostly in Arabic. Do philosophy and literature shape our consciousness and relationships with others? Diwan Al-Falsafa with Dr. Abdul-Hakim Shubat on the theses in his novel “Boddinstraße”. In the next Diwan al-Falsafa on July 26 at 19h in Ulme 35 we will try to figure out what’s behind, or inside, […]
Continue ReadingSecularism, secularity and secularisation – what exactly does each notion mean, and how are they related to and distinguished from each other? Does secularism, for example, mean a separation of religion and church from state, politics or sovereignty? What are the theoretical and practical implications of different definitions of secularism? In what sense and to what […]
Continue ReadingValues: Are they universal? Are they cultural? What are “our” values? Diwan in German. Are all values the same everywhere, as the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ postulates? Or do values differ depending on the society human beings form? The discussion in Western media regarding values oscillates: for some, all values, and especially those described […]
Continue ReadingWhat do we mean when we speak about integration? It seems a simple question; there is, however, no single or simple answer. And despite the fact that the term ‘integration’ originally has positive significations, it has increasingly been used in a negative way to describe and demand the integration of one social group “immigrants and […]
Continue ReadingIndividualism in Eastern and Western Cultures It seems that the concept of the “individual”, in its moral and political sense, represents a cultural and intellectual Western achievement for which it is hard to find an equivalent in Eastern cultures in general, and in Islamic culture in particular. Beginning with the philosophy of Sophists and Epicureans […]
Continue ReadingDespite the fact that most societies have endeavoured to adopt the secular model and separated the state from religious institutions to achieve democracy and enforce equality, tolerance and human rights, it is obvious that religious practices continue to exist both in non-Western as well as in Western societies; the best example being the USA, where scientific and technical modernity exist right next to substantial religiosity.
Continue ReadingModernity, as a philosophical movement, emerged as a direct consequence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries´ scientific revolution in Europe. Based on the new scientific knowledge, Europeans were able to establish a new complete social system containing morals, law, commerce, and politics. Although some European theorists argue that the concept of modernity generally describes renewing […]
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