Islamic Peace Ethics: Peace Ethics Discourse in contemporary Islamic cultural circles Abu Bakr stops mecanic mob In light of political events across the world after the end of the Cold War, it is clear that future political and social upheavals can only be even somewhat peaceful when one can come to a better understanding of cultures and religions of the world. With this in mind, the project “Islamic Peace Ethics” aims to identify, with the help of the example of the Islamic cultural circle, the inner-Islamic discourse and to question its religious, cultural and philosophical assumptions. Muhammad at the Badr War The turn towards Islam is brought to the fore, not just through its current political actuality, but also through the specific challenge that today Muslims are asking themselves peace ethical questions which cannot be assumed to be answerable in the (as a rule) normatively understood teachings of the Quran. A page of an ancient Koran manuscript (8-9 century) On the question of the permissibility of the deployment of nuclear weapons or of drones, for example, there is nothing of relevance to be found in the Koran. How then, are discourses on these and other similar topics conducted in the Arabic World, in Turkey, Iran or in South East Asia? In which ways are the different positions identified in the inner Islamic discourse included: descriptive reality analyses, prescriptive arguments of human reasoning or references to the normative sources of the Koran? With this backdrop, the project asks if the Islamic world identifies with such discourse about these and other questions. Where are these discourse carried out – online, in academic circles, by the political elite? And which positions can be identified in these groups? Here it is important to reconstruct the positions in their inner architecture and to ask if and how a dialogue between divergent positions is possible or has been attempted? If dialogue is possible, it can be assumed that the parties have something in common? What is this common ground? Muhammad’s last sermon The project aims to discuss questions of this kind and to present a consolidated summary of the findings. Ultimately, it is not about the individual argumentation findings but about an understanding of the logic of argumentation processes. The project distinguishes itself through the contribution of internationally renowned institutions and interdisciplinary cooperation. The project has been completed. A publication is still being finalised. Project Supervisor Dr. Heydar Shadi (till 11/2019)
