Curriculum Vitae:

FRANK GRIFFEL

Department of Religious Studies
Yale University
PO Box 208287
New Haven, CT 06520

Office: (203) 432-0828
Fax: (203) 432-7844

email:frank.griffel@yale.edu

Education

1995-99 Ph.D., Free University Berlin, Germany
1991-95 M.A., Free University Berlin, Germany
1990-91 University of Damascus, Syria
1987-90 University of Göttingen, Germany

Professional Experience

2008- Professor of Islamic Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
2006–08 Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
2003-04 Mellon Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J.
2000-2006 Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
1999-2000 Research Fellow, Orient Institut der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Beirut, Lebanon

Honors and Awards

2007             Carnegie Scholar
2005             Griswold Award for Research Abroad.
2003-04         Mellon Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.
2003-04         Morse Fellowship in the Humanities.
1995-98         Dissertation Grant for Promising Young Scholars of the Land Berlin
                    (Nachwuchsförderungsprogramm des Landes Berlin).

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Averroes’ Maßgebliche Abhandlung. Introduction and commented German translation of Ibn Rushd’s Fasl al-maqal. Frankfurt (Germany): Verlag der Weltreligionen. In Press.

Al-Ghazali’s The Philosophical Theology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 424 pp.

Shari'a: Islamic Law in the Contemporary Context. Edited by Frank Griffel and Abbas Amanat, (Calif.): Stanford University Press. 2007. 249 p.

Apostasie und Toleranz im Islam. Die Entwicklung zu al-Gazalis Urteil gegen die Philosophie und die Reaktionen der Philosophen (Apostasy and Tolerance in Islam. The development that led to al-Ghazali's condemnation of philosophy and the reactions from the side of the philosophers) Leiden: Brill 2000 (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies; 40) 521 p.

Download the publisher's description of the book (PDF file, in English).
Download the book's Table of Contents, Introduction, and Conclusion (PDF file, 22 pages in German).

Über Rechtgläubigkeit und religiöse Toleranz. Eine Übersetzung der Schrift Das Kriterium der Unterscheidung zwischen Islam und Gottlosigkeit (Faysal at-tafriqa bayna l-Islam wa-z-zandaqa), Translated, introduced, and annotated by Frank Griffel. Zurich: Spur Verlag, 1998. 110 pp.

Articles and Chapters in Books

“Abu’l-Barakat al-Baghdadi,” “Al-Ghazali,” “Ibn Tumart,” “Al-Ashʿari,” and “Mutakallimun.” In Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. General Editor Robert E. Bjork. New York: Oxford University Press. In Print.

“The Muslim Philosophers’ (falasifa) Rationalist Explanation of Muḥammad’s Prophecy and Its Influence on Islamic Theology and Sufism.” In Cambridge Companion to Muhammad. Edited by Jonathan E. Brockopp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10 pp. In Print.

“The Project of Enlightenment in Islamic-Arabic Culture.” In: The Cultures of Maimonideanism: New Approaches to the History of Jewish Thought. Edited by James T. Robinson. Leiden: Brill, 2009. 1–20.

“Al-Ghazali’s Cosmology in the Veil Section of His Mishkat al-Anwar.” In Avicenna and his Heritage: A Golden Age of Science and Philosophy. Edited by Tzvi Langermann. Turnhout (Belgium): Brepols, 2009. 27-49

“Al-Ghazali or al-Ghazzali? On a Lively Debate Among Ayyubid and Mamluk Historians in Damascus.” In Islamic Thought in the Middle Ages: Studies in Transmission and Translation in Honour of Hans Daiber. Edited by Anna Ayse Akasoy and Wim Raven. Leiden: Brill, 2008. 101-112.

“Al-Ghazali.” In The Islamic World. Edited by Andrew Rippin. London: Routledge, 2008. 359-365.

“Al-Ghazali.” In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Principal Editor Edward N. Zalta. 20pp. Online Encyclopedia. Link to the article: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/al-ghazali/

“On Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s Life and the Patronage He Received.” Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford) 18 (2007): 313-44. Download PDF file

Articles: "Apostasy" and "Agnosticism". In Encyclopaedia of Islam. Third Edition. Executive Editors Marc Gaborieau, Gudrun Krämer, John Nawas, Everett Rawson. Leiden: Brill. Online version available at http://www.encislam.brill.nl/.

"The Rational Proof for God's Existence and His Unity of Ibn Tumart and His Connection to the Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad." In: Los Almohades: problemas y perspectivas. Edited by Patrice Cressier, Maribel Fierro, and Luis Molina. 2 vols. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigationes Científicas, 2005. Vol. 2. 753–813. Download PDF file.

“Ms. London, British Library Or. 3126 : An Unknown Work by al-Ghazali on Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology. Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford). 17 (2006): 1–42. Download PDF file.

"Divine Actions, Creation, and the Human Fate After Death in 9th/15th Century Imami Shi’ite Theology" (Review article of: Sabine Schmidtke. Theologie, Philosophie und Mystik im Zwölferschiitischen Islam des 9./15. Jahrhunderts. Die Gedankenwelten des Ibn Abi Gumhur al-Ahsa’i. Leiden: Brill, 2000.) Journal of the American Oriental Society 125.1 (2005). 67-78.

"The Introduction of Avicennian Psychology into Muslim Theological Discourse: The Case of al-Ghazali (d. 1111)." In Intellect et imagination dans la Philosophie Médiévale / Intellect and Imagination in Medieval Philosophy / Intelecto e imaginação na Filosofia Medieval. Actes du XIe Congrès International de Philosophie Médiévale de la Société Internationale pour l'Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (S.I.E.P.M.), Porto, du 26 au 31 août 2002. Edited by Maria Cândida Pacheco and José F. Meirinhos. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2005. 581-592.

"Taqlid of the Philosophers. Al-Ghazali's initial accusation in the Tahafut." In Insights into Arabic Literature and Islam. Ideas, Concepts, Modes of Portrayal, ed. Sebastian Günther, Leiden: Brill, 2005. 253-273. Download PDF file.

Articles "Apostasy," "Al-Ghazali," "Mu'tazila", "al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din", and "Sunni Revival." In Medieval Islamic Civilization. An Encyclopedia, ed. Josef W. Meri. London: Routledge, 2006.

"Al-Gazali's Concept of Prophecy: The Introduction of Avicennan Psychology into As'arite Theology." Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 14 (2004): 101-144. Download PDF file.

Article: "Moderation." In Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe et al. Third Volume. Leiden: Brill, 2003. 401-403.

"The Introduction of Avicennean Psychology into the Muslim Theological Discourse." In Transcendental Philosophy. An International Journal for Comparative Philosophy and Mysticism (London) 3 (2002): 357-370.

"The Relationship Between Averroes and al-Ghazali as it Presents Itself in Averroes' Early writings, Especially in his Commentary on al-Ghazali's al-Mustasfa." In Medieval Philosophy and the Classical Tradition in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Edited by John Inglis, Richmond: Curzon Press, 2002. 51-63. Download PDF file.

"Toleration and Exclusion: al-Shafi'i and al-Ghazali on the Treatment of Apostates." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (London), 64 (2001): 339-354. Download PDF file.

"Die Anwendung des Apostasieurteils bei as-Safi'i und al-Gazali." (The application of the Law of Apostasy in al-Shafi'i and al-Ghazali.) In Akten des 27. Deutschen Orientalistentages (Bonn - 28. September bis 2. Oktober 1998) - Norm um Abweichung. Edited by Stefan Wild and Hartmut Schild. Würzburg: Ergon Verlag, 2001. 353-362.

In collaboration with Ulrich Haarmann: Article "Umma." In Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie. Edited by Joachim Ritter and Karlfried Gründer. Vol. 11. Basel: Schwabe Verlag, 2001. 89-91. Download PDF file.

"Toleranzkonzepte im Islam und ihr Einfluß auf Jean Bodins Colloquium Heptaplomeres." (Concepts of tolerance in Islam and their influence on Jean Bodin's Colloquium Heptaplomeres). In Bodinus Polymeres. Neue Studien zu Jean Bodins Spätwerk. Edited by Ralph Häfner. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1999. 119-144.

Article "Sufi; Sufismus." In Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie. Edited by Joachim Ritter and Karlfried Gründer, Vol. 10. Basel: Schwabe Verlag 1998. 575-581. Download PDF file.

Other Articles

Obituary "Friedrich Niewöhner 1941–2005." In Die Welt des Islams 46 (2006): 1–6. Download PDF file.

"Franz Rosenthal." In Neue Deutsche Biographie. Vol. 22. Edited by Historische Kommission der Bayrischen Akademy der Wissenschaften. Berlin: Dunker & Humblot, 2005. 82-83. Download PDF file.

"Globalization and the Middle East: Part Two." On YaleGlobal Online (http://yaleglobal.yale.edu). January 21, 2003 (4pp.) Reprinted in various publications such as "Why globalization is more than just Westernization." South China Morning Post (Hong Kong). January 24, 2003.

"Muhammad Atta, Modernity, and the Secular State: How Important will Muslim Fundamentalism be for the 21st Century?" The Politic. April 2002. 29-32.

"Muslims uniting behind Afghanistan." The Yale Daily News. October 19, 2001.

"Morocco." In Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students. Edited by John Middleton. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.

"Peptimismus als Strategie." (Pessoptimism as a strategy.) die tageszeitung (Berlin). July 14, 1992.

Review: Commentaire moyen à la Rhétorique d'Aristote. By Averroès (Ibn Rusd). Introduction générale, édition critique du texte arabe, traduction française, commentaires et tables par Maroun Aouad. 3 vols. Paris: Vrin, 2002. In: Isis  98 (2007): 373–75.

Review: Menschliche oder göttliche Weisheit? Zum Gegensatz von philosophischem und religiösem Lebensideal bei al-Ghazali und Yehuda ha-Levi. By Nicolai Sinai. Würzburg: Ergon Verlag, 2003. In: Orientalische Literaturzeitschrift (Berlin). 101 (2006): 693-7.

Review: Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination. By Ebrahim Moosa. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005. In: Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 74 (2006): 795-8.

Review: Avicenna’s Metaphysics in Context. By Robert Wisnovsky. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., 2003. In: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 88 (2006): 107–12. Download PDF file.

Review: Rasa’il al-Shajara al-ilahiyya fi ‘ulum al-haqa’iq al-rabbaniyya. By Shams al-Dīn al-Shahrazuri. Edited by Mehmet Necip Görgün. 3 vols. Istanbul: Elif Yayinlari, 2004. In: al-‘Usur al-Wusta. 17.2 (2005), 46–47.

Review: Abkar al-afkar fi usul al-din. By Sayf al-Dīn al-Amidi. Edited by Ahmad Muhammad al-Mahdi, 5 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Kutub wa-l-Watha’q al-Qawmiyya, 1424/2004. In: al-‘Usur al-Wusta. 17.2 (2005), 46.

Review: Al-Ghazali’s Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the Ihya’. By Timothy J. Gianotti. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 124 (2004): 107–111.

Review: Der Fehltritt des Gelehrten. Die "Pest von Emmaus" und ihre theologischen Nachspiele. By Josef van Ess, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter, 2001. Speculum. Journal of the Mediaeval Academy of America 79.4 (2004): 1066-9.

Review: Intellectual Traditions in Islam. Edited by Farhad Daftary. London: I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2000. Die Welt des Islams 43 (2003): 398-400.

Review: Al-Ghazali. The Niche of Lights: A parallel English-Arabic Text. Translated, introduced, and annotated by David Buchman. Islamic Translation Series. Provo (Utah): Brigham Young University Press, 1998. Journal of the American Oriental Society 122 (2002): 859f.

Review: Maimonides' Empire of Light: Popular Enlightenment in an Age of Belief. By Ralph Lerner. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Journal of the American Oriental Society 122 (2002): 860-863.

Review: al-Juwayni's Thought and Methodology. With a Translation and Commentary on Luma' al-Adilla. By Mohamed Moslem Adel Saflo. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 2000. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 122 (2002): 858f.

Review: Farouk Mitha, Al-Ghazali and the Ismailis. A Debate on Reason and Authority in Medieval Islam, London: I.B. Tauris, 2001 (Ismaili Heritage Series, 5). Journal of Semitic Studies 48 (2003): 175-178.

Review: al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers. A Parallel English-Arabic Text. Translated, introduced and annotated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo (Utah): Brigham Young University Press, 1997. Bulletin of the Royal Institute of Inter-Faith Studies (Amman, Jordan), 4 (2002): 167-170.

Review: Dominic Perler and Ulrich Rudolph, Occasionalismus. Theorien der Kausalität im arabisch-islamischen und im europäischen Denken, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 152 (2002): 405-408.

Review: Averroes, Kommentar des Averroes zu Platons Politeia. Übersetzt von Simon Lauer und kommentiert von E.I.J. Rosenthal. Zurich: Spur Verlag 1996, and Averroismus im Mittelalter und in der Renaissance. Edited by Friedrich Niewöhner and Loris Sturlese. Zurich: Spur Verlag, 1994. Die Welt des Islams 38 (1998): 254-260.

Translations

Harald Motzki. "Whither hadith-studies? A critical examination of G. H. A. Juynboll's 'Nafi' the mawla of Ibn 'Umar, and his position in Muslim ¸adith-literature.'" English translation of two German articles originally published in Der Islam 73 (1996). Prepared for the Proceedings of the International Conference on Qur'anic Studies in August 1998 at the SOAS London. In collaboration with Fiona Ford, Cambridge.

Der Peptimist oder Von den seltsamen Vorfällen um das Verschwinden Saids des Glücklosen. Annotated German translation of the Arab novel "al-Mutasha'il" ("The Pessoptimist") by Emil Habibi. In colloboration with I. Abu Haschhasch, H. Fähndrich, A. Neuwirth, F. Pannewick, J. Paul, and S. Srouji. Zurich: Lenos Verlag 1992. 257 pp.

SELECTION OF SCHOLARLY PRESENTATION

Invited Lectures and Workshop Participation

“Wird der Einfluss der arabischen Philosophie überschätzt?” Talk during the Dies Quodlibetalis of the Gesellschaft für Philosophie des Mittelalters und der Renaissance  (GPMR), June 19, 2009 at the Institut für Philosophie, Universität Würzburg, Germany.

“Inspiration (ilham) as a Source of Scientific Knowledge: How al-Ghazali Applied the Avicennan Notion of Acumen (hads).” Talk given to Yale's Working Group on Arabic Philosophy, April 20, 2009.

 “What Did al-Ghazali Mean When He Said That the Connection Between a Cause and Its Effect Is Not Necessary?” Paper invited to a symposium on the philosophy of Ibn Sina organized by Marmara University, Ankara University, and the Association for the Scholars of Islamic Philosophy (ISFED) in Istanbul (Turkey), May 22–24, 2008.

“Al-Ghazali’s Students and Immediate Followers: A Portrait of the Intellectual Climate in Iraq and Iran during the Early 12th Century.” Paper given during the conference, “In the Age of Averroes Arabic Thought at the End of the Classical Period,” Warburg Institute, London, February 14–16, 2008.

“Was meint al-Gazali mit seiner Kritik an den Philosophen, dass kausale Verknüpfungen nicht notwendig seien?” Ruhr Universität Bochum (Germany), October 15, 2007.

Keynote Speaker on “The Project of Enlightenment in Islamic-Arabic Culture” at the conference on “The Cultures of Maimonideanism: New Approaches to the History of Jewish Thought,” European Association for Jewish Studies, Oxford, July 16–19, 2007.

Respondent of the panel “Faiths in Conflict” at the conference "Religious Communities in Islamic Empires,” Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, Philadelphia, April 30–May 2, 2007.

Invited Participant in the research group on “Mu’tazilism within Islam and Judaism” at the Institute for Advanced Study of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, June 3–16, 2006.

“How God Creates the World? Al-Ghazali and the Cosmology of the Aristotelian Philosophers.” University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, February 10, 2006.

“Buhuth jadida hawla hayat al-Ghazali wa-’alaqatihi ma’a Madinat al-Quds.”Arabic lecture given at the Mu’assasat Ihya’ al-Turath wa-l-Buhuth al-Islamiyya (Center for Heritage and Islamic Research) in Abu Dis, West Bank, November 25, 2005.

“Necessity is God’s Free Choice: al-Ghazālī’s Incorporation of Philosophical Cosmology in an Occasionalist View of Creation.” Paper given at the international conference “Post-Avicennian Science and Philosophy” at Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, November 21–23, 2005.

Discussant of Mary Habeck’s Paper “Our ‘Aqida: Jihadist Ideology and the Jihadist War on the West.” Workshop “The Roots of Radicalism.” Yale University, May 8–9, 2004.

"Al-Ghazali's Ontology: A Reading of Ms. London Or. 3126" Paper given at the Colloquium "Classical Arabic Philosophy: Sources and Reception" organized by the Department of Philosophy, King's College, London. April 29-30, 2004.

"Al-Ghazali and the Authorities of Reason and Revelation in Islam" Lecture at the Royal Institute of Philosophy at Brimingham University, England. April 27, 2004.

"Ist der Islam die „ursprüngliche Veranlagung" des Menschen? Al-Ghazali über das muslimische Konzept der fitra" Paper given at the University of Bamberg, Germany, June 2, 2003 and at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2003.

Invited participation at the Workshop "Tolerance and Intolerance in Medieval and Modern Islamic Thought," at New York University, May 17, 2003.

"Islam in America: Just Another Denomination or a Clash of Cultures?" Paper given at the Center for Religion and American Life at Yale, April 24, 2003.

"Much Ado About Nothing? The Dispute on the Philosophical Connection between Descartes and al-Ghazali," Paper given at the New Haven Oriental Club, November 14, 2002.

"al-Ghazali's Novel Concept of Prophecy - Connecting a Muslim's Belief with the Status of Being", Paper given at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.), October 30, 2001.

"How did Arabic Philosophy Influence European Thinking: The Case of al-Ghazali and Descartes", Paper given at the Orient Institut der deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Beirut, June 30, 2000.

"Ibn Rushd's Three Types of Commentaries on Aristotle: Jawami', Talkhisat and Tafsirat", Paper given at the Mu'atamar Abù Walid Ibn Rushd - Qira'at fi falsafatihi wa-fikrihi, Maqasid Institute, Beirut, January 25-26, 2000.

"The relationship between Averroes and al-Ghazali as it presents itself in Averroes' early writings, especially in his commentary on al-Ghazali's al-Mustasfa", paper given at the Baker Colloquium on Islamic, Jewish and Christian Medieval Philosophy at the University of Dayton/Ohio, April 11-13, 1999.

"Johann Gottfried Eichhorn und das protestantische Interesse an der philosophischen Allegorie Hayy ibn Yaqzan" (J. G. Eichhorn and the Protestant interest in the philosophical allegory Hayy Ibn Yaqzan), paper given on a colloquium on the German religious scholar and orientalist Johann Gottfried Eichhorn (1752-1827) at the Herzog-August-Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, February 18-19, 1999.

"A new source for the study of Averroes' scientific programme: Averroes' Short Commentary on al-Ghazali's juridical work", paper given at the Postgraduate Seminar of the Warburg Institute London, January 25, 1999.

"A new interpretation of Averroes' relationship to al-Ghazali", paper given at the symposium held on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the death of Averroes in Istanbul, December 11-13, 1998.

Conference Lectures

“What Did al-Ghazali Mean When He Said That the Connection Between a Cause and Its Effect Is Not Necessary?” Paper given at the 218th Meeting of the American Oriental Society in Chicago, March 14–17, 2008.

"The Combination of liberum arbitrium and the Prior Determination of Events in al-Ghazali’s Cosmology." Paper given at the annual conference of the Middle Eastern Studies Association in Boston, November 23-26, 2006.

"Al-Ghazali’s Cosmology and the "Veil Section" of Mishkat al-anwar." Paper given at the 216th Meeting of the American Oriental Society in Seattle, March 17–20, 2006.

"Necessity is God’s Free Choice. Al-Ghazali’s Incorporation of Philosophical Determination into a Voluntarist Concept of Creation." Paper given at the international conference on Knowledge Exchange in the Mediterranean of the Societé Internationale pour l’Historie de la Science et Philosophie Arabe et Islamique (SIHSPAI) at Florence (Italy), February 16–18, 2006.

"The Influence of Averroes’ Concept of Religious Toleration in Jean Bodin (1530–1596)." Paper given at the 40th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, May 5–8, 2005.

"Determination and ‘the Best of All Possible Words’ in the Early al-Ghazali." Paper given at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Antonio on Sunday, November 21, 2004.

"Die Arten der Gottesbeweise bei al-Gazali und Hs. or. 3126 in London." Paper given at the 29th Deutsche Orientalistentag, "Barrieren - Passagen." in Halle (Germany). September 20-24, 2004.

"Ms. London, British Library, Or. 3126: A Textbook of Philosophical Metaphysics by al-Ghazali?" Paper given given at the International Conference of the American Oriental Society in San Diego (California), March 12-15 1, 2004.

"Is the 'pseudo-Maqasid' an unknown work by al-Ghazali on metaphysics and theology?" Paper given at the colloquium on Indentité culturelle des sciences et des philosophies arabes: auteurs, oeuvres et transmissions, organized by the Société Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques in Namur (Belgium), January 14-18, 2003.

"Is the 'Pseudo-Maqasid' an Unknown Work by al-Ghazali on Metaphysics and Theology?" Paper accepted for the annual conference of the Middle Eastern Studies Association in Washington D.C., November 23-26, 2002.

"The Introduction of Avicennean Psychology into the Muslim Theological Discourse: The Case of al-Ghazali (d. 1111)" Paper given at the conference of the Sociétè Internationale pour l'Etude de la Philosophie Medievale in Porto (Portugal), August 26-31, 2002.

"Al-Ghazali's Initial Accusation against the Falasifa in the Tahafut", Paper given at the International Conference of the American Oriental Society in Houston (Texas), March 22-25, 2002.

"Two Very Different Approaches in al-Shafi'i and al-Ghazali on the Treatment of Apostates", Paper given at the International Conference of the American Oriental Society in Toronto (Canada), March 30-April 1, 2001.

"Die Anwendung des Apostasieurteils bei as-Safi'i und al-Gazali" (The application of the law of apostasy in al-Shafi'i and al-Ghazali), paper given at the 27th Deutsche Orientalistentag in Bonn, September 28-October 2, 1998.