Living Together: Christians and Muslims in Sicily and Egypt under Fāṭimid Rule
FALL 2026 Lecture Series
Nuha Alshaar
Living Together: Christians and Muslims in Sicily and Egypt under Fāṭimid Rule
October 07, 2026 - 12:00PM (EST) - 1 hour
This talk explores Christian-Muslim and Jewish relations in Sicily during the ninth to eleventh centuries under Aghlabid, Fāṭimid, and Kalbid rule. Drawing on Arabic and Islamic sources, it highlights how interaction, mobility, and cultural exchange between Christians and Muslims shaped a distinctive multicultural Sicilian identity, offering valuable insights into intercultural coexistence in the medieval Mediterranean.
A working command of the vocabulary of Islamic metaphysics — wujūd, māhiyya, the gradation of being — used precisely, not loosely.
The capacity to read primary texts of Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā with comprehension rather than reverence alone.
An understanding of why the tradition treats metaphysics as the science of realities — and what that claim asks of the knower.
Direct exchange with Professor Nasr in open Q&A after every session — the part no book can replace.
