Mehdi Azaiez (Paris, 1974) is Professor of Islamology at UCLouvain.
He was Assistant Professor of Islamic Theology during the period 2014-2019 at KU Leuven where he is now Visiting Professor and member of the research unit Biblical Studies. His research focuses on Quranic studies and early Islam. In the past (2012-2013) he was an instructor in Islamic studies and co-director of the international Qur’ân Seminar project at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA).
Since 2013, he is a member of the Publications and Research Committee of the International Quranic Studies Association (IQSA).
He created and edits a website dedicated to Quranic studies: Quran and Human Sciences
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Unity of God and unity in God – a possible perspective and way of dialogue between the believers?
A shῑ‘ῑ perspective of dialogue developed by D. Mohammad Ali Shomali. Talking about unity between believers and calling them to act upon it is not new in Islam. The Qur’ān and the early history o...
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The Quran of Historians
How is historical research on the Qur'an received in the Muslim world? What do we know about the historical figure of Muhammad? Interview with Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, co-director of the “Qur'an o...
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Islam and the Salvation of non- Muslims: The Qur’anic Perspective
"At the Pluriel conference on “Islam and Otherness” I will argue the Qur’an’s emphasis on divine freedom provides an opening for inclusivism. The Qur’an emphasizes God’s mercy, using al-Raḥmān as a...
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Otherness And Spatial Dimension In The Arabic Language And Culture
Etymologically, the noun âkhar from the verb âkhara, rather draws the action of postponing, أَخَّرَ العَمَلَ, or temporarily deprogramming an action. al-âkhar on some other hand does not establish ...
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Islamic Hermeneutics of Nonviolence: Key Concepts and Methodological Steps
The article traces the key concepts and methodological steps that make an Islamic theology of nonviolence plausible. It offers the tools for a critical reading of classical texts, “sacred” history,...
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Environmentalism and sustainability as an expression of Islamic moral orientation
Abstract : The essay emphasizes cultural specificities, starting with the terminology currently used to describe sustainability, and investigates the lack of homogeneity of the semantic fields bel...
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Authority according to the Qur’an and the authority of the Qur’an: from model to realisation
Conference « Religious Authority in Islam », organised by the Centre for the Study of Cultures and Religions and the Research Unit of the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), on 18 and 19 November 2...
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Violence and Jihad in Islam: From the War of Words to the Clashes of Definitions
This article explores the phenomena of violence and jihad in three parts: their emergence and trajectory in the Qur’anic text, their meanings, and their entanglement with the religious cause. The o...