Islamisk teologi och filosofi vid Uppsala universitet

Abstract

This article describes the development that led to the appointment of a professor in Islamic Theology and Philosophy at the Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University, and, at a later stage, to a renewed understanding of Systematic Theology, with two orientations: (1) Worldview Studies and Christian Theology and (2) Islamic Theology. The point of departure is earlier theoretical and methodological considerations by the authors concerning Islamic theology in a contemporary Nordic university setting. Mikael Stenmark was later to become the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, between 2008 and 2014, and during that period new courses in Islamic Theology and Philosophy were designed and Professor Mohammad Fazlhashemi was hired to lead the development of Islamic Theology and Philosophy. This is described in the first section of the article. In the following sections, the academic discipline in which Islamic Theology later was to be integrated, Systematic Theology, is described historically and theoretically in view of the broader work with rethinking the disciplinary structure of the Faculty of Theology during the period when Mattias Martinson was Dean, between 2014 and 2020. The article concludes with a reflection on the current situation and an outlook towards the challenges that a commitment to Islamic Theology entails at a Northern European state university.