Khaled Abou El Fadl on "The Contested Vestiges of the Islamic: Postscript Reflections on Reasoning with God," Michigan State Univ., 4.14.2016

KEYNOTE: “The Contested Vestiges of the Islamic: Postscript Reflections on Reasoning with God," 9th Annual Muslim Studies Conference on "Defining the Islamic," Michigan State University, April 14, 2016. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses his views on what is and is not "Islamic," most notably that Islam was sent as a message for all of humanity, which demands that Islamic conceptions of mercy, compassion, justice, ethics and morality must be accessible, reasonable and compelling to all of humanity. Of note, this is the fundamental reason why ISIS, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups are not Islamic--their actions and conceptions do not reflect mercy, justice, compassion or any other Islamic virtues in a way that speaks to the hearts of all of humanity.