Russell Blackwood, the John Stewart Kennedy Professor of Philosophy, emeritus, treated an Alumni College class to a lively discussion titled "Islamic Thought Today: The Gates of Ijtihad" during an alumni college class on June 6.
Blackwood discussed theologies and philosophies of the Middle East, reviewing the history of the Koran and the Islam religion. He compared the "taqlid" and "itjihad". Taqlid is the belief that if one has a problem one should go back to "Shariah" (the law) and find the answer. Itjihad is the view that new problems arising in the modern world require interpretation of Shariah. Blackwood also described "Jihad," which means "struggle." He said the greater jihad is the internal struggle.
