[Jörg Matthias Determann]

Dear colleagues and friends,

I hope this reaches you well.

Shoaib Ahmed Malik of Zayed University and I would like to thank everyone who submitted an abstract for our upcoming online conference on “Islamic Perspectives on Exotheology.” This event will be held in collaboration with the Religion and Astrobiology in Culture and Society (RACS) network on May 10 and 11, 2022. Shoaib and I read every contribution we received with great interest. We have now created a conference booklet containing the paper summaries, schedule and information on how to sign-up. You can view and download it here: https://www.academia.edu/67353496/Islamic_Perspectives_on_Exotheology_Conference_Booklet

The opening paragraph of our booklet is as follows:

“On Christmas Day, December 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched. The successor to NASA’s flagship Hubble Space Telescope is designed to make detailed observations of nearby exoplanets as well as of distant galaxies. Many hope that it will also detect life elsewhere in the universe. If we do discover intelligent life forms outside of Earth, this would not only provide new material to creators of science fiction. It would also raise profound philosophical and theological questions. What would it mean for existing religions if we find out that there are advanced civilizations with different faiths and belief systems out there, for instance? Do humans still enjoy a special relationship with God (as suggested by the Qurʾān and other scriptures), if there are other sentient and perhaps smarter beings? We have decided to probe some of these issues with reference to Islam in this conference.”

The event is free and open to everyone. We welcome your participation.

With best wishes,

Matthias

 

Jörg Matthias Determann

Virginia Commonwealth University

https://vcu.academia.edu/Determann

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