UTCP Lecture on Understanding Islam #1
27 October, 2007
Understanding Islam
We had the first UTCP lecture on understanding Islam on 25 October. We invited Prof. Shigeru Mamada as a lecturer. Prof. Kamada specializes in Islamic thought, in particular, Shiitic mysticism.
Prof. Kamada first explained differences between monism and polytheism. Then he pointed out that "Islam" means obedience and belief, and that a feature of Islam is to give a meaning to all human activities. According to Prof. Kamada, the Qur'an is a collection of Allah's words. Taking up several examples, he explained that we can have many interpretations of the Qur'an, depending on what we regard as Allah's will.