Mouez Khalfaoui

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Mouez Khalfaoui (* 1970 in Tunisia ) is a German-Tunisian theologian. He works as a professor for Islamic law at the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen . His thematic focus is the strong emphasis on reality when thinking about Islam and Muslims.

Life

Mouez Khalfaoui grew up in (the region) El Kef , a small town in northwestern Tunisia. He studied Islamic studies, Arabic studies, sociology of culture and aesthetics at the University of Tunis I, where Michel Foucault taught for two years and is still very well received. In 1998 he graduated with the state examination (aggrégation) in Arabic literature and Islamic civilization at the University of Manouba in Tunis. Khalfaoui was strongly influenced by the teaching of Abdelmajid Charfi, Hichem Djait , Mohammed Talbi , Hammadi Sammoud, Rachida Triki, Fatma Haddad, Tahar Labib, among others . Khalfaoui acquired classical theological knowledge (such as Koran exegesis , Koran recitation , Hadith , Fiqh etc.) in his youth and later at the Ez-Zitouna mosque in Tunis . From 1996 to 2002 he worked as a civil servant teacher at various schools in rural regions in Tunisia and part-time as a journalist. In 1998 Khalfaoui obtained his diploma as an Office and Economics Technician from the Ministry of Labor of Tunisia. In 2000 he published a textbook on Arabic Language and Islamic Civilization (in Arabic).

Khalfaoui became politically active at an early age: in the 1980s he actively campaigned for freedom and civic participation in a school movement and took part in the peasant movement in the region. As a student he joined the student opposition to the Ben Ali regime and was persecuted for it. In 1994 he joined Ben Ali's party , the RCD, to help shape changes from within. When this attempt at change failed, Khalfaoui resigned from the party in 1998. After several short research stays in Germany, Khalfaoui received his doctorate from 2002 - 2007 with Jamal Malik at the University of Erfurt and finally published his doctoral thesis on Islamic law in South Asia (2008). From 2007-2009 Mouez Khalfaoui worked as a research assistant at the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Braunschweig and carried out training courses for elementary school and high school teachers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland on topics related to Islamic culture and history. In 2009 Khalfaoui switched to the diplomatic service until he was appointed professor for Islamic law in Tübingen in February 2012. There he was appointed Dean of Studies (2012-2017) and made a significant contribution to establishing Islamic theology as a university discipline. As a Muslim thinker of the 21st century. Khalfaoui stands for a progressive Islamic theology that uses the approaches and paradigms of modern science to give people a clear orientation in their lives. His approach is aimed primarily at European Muslims. His solution-oriented teaching and research stand for a free and reflective orientation of people. Based on the principle of self-determination anchored in the constitution of democratic states, theology is intended to enlighten people and help them to make their own decisions without forcing certain decisions. Khalfaoui considers essentialist approaches of the classic minority law, as well as their updated requirements, to be outdated. Instead, he advocates a theology of cohesion. He calls on Muslims to see themselves as part of modern societies and to strengthen social cohesion. Instead of advocating particular rights, Khalfaoui advocates strong, just rights for all.

research

The solution-oriented research method pursued by Khalfaoui consists of three steps: First, the problems are identified. Great importance is attached to the social sciences. This is followed by a feedback into the classical theory in order to enable a comprehensive understanding of the classical Islamic doctrine. Third, solutions are sought, whereby interdisciplinary approaches play an important role. It is not about normative solutions, but about orientation features that are conveyed by theology in order to enable people to make independently reflected decisions. Khalfaoui conducted research in Tunisia, India, the Arab world, Europe and the USA. He spent numerous research stays in research institutions in South Asia (Delhi, Lucknow, Patna), England (Cambridge, London, Oxford, Exeter), France (Paris), USA (Princeton), Berlin and most recently at the Luxembourg School of Religion & Society (LSRS ). He directs u. a. the interdisciplinary post-doc research group Religion and Rationality - Faith and Reason in the Life and Thinking of Muslims , Christians and Jews in the Context of Plural Societies at the University of Tübingen, as well as the AIWG project: The normativity of the Koran between traditional interpretive approaches and contemporary reception (2018 -2022, in cooperation with the University of Erlangen ), as well as the interdisciplinary research projects: Islamic work ethics in a global context (2012-2015) with Prof. Dr. Matthias Möhring-Hesse and Islamic Family Law in Germany (2017–2022).

Functions and memberships

  • Founder of the University Forum for Islamic Law, 2013
  • Co-founder and board member of the German International Society for Theological Studies (DIGITS), Germany, 2015
  • Founding member of the Berlin Institute for Public Theology, Humboldt University Berlin, 2017
  • Founder of the publication series “Theology, Education, Ethics and Law of Islam” Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden, 2017
  • Member of the Society for Arabic and Islamic Law (GAIR)
  • Founding member of the Tübingen School of Education
  • Expert and consultant at the Academy for Islam in Science and Society (AIWG)
  • Consultant and reviewer for European and international foundations and political institutions etc. a. for the DAAD

Works (selection)

Monographs:

  • 2016: Islam and Muslims in Europe, LIT-Verlag, Berlin.
  • 2008: L'Islam India: pluralité ou pluralisme. Le cas d'al-fatāwā al-hindiyya, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main (dissertation).
  • 2000: Textbook for Arabic language and Islamic civilization, Dar al-Bustān, Tunis (Arabic language).
  • Plurality and Pluralism in Muslim Legal scholarship, forthcoming.
  • Islamic Law and Social Ethics: A European Perspective, forthcoming.

Editorships:

  • 2016: Islamic Law in Theory and Practice, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, (together with Bülent Ucar).
  • 2015: A working society - also for Muslims: interdisciplinary and interreligious contributions to gainful employment, Waxmann-Verlag, Münster, (together with Matthias Möhring-Hesse).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Professor Dr. Mouez Khalfaoui | University of Tübingen. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Gerdien Jonker: Images in the head. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  3. ↑ For a modern interpretation of Islamic family law: "Islamic theology can combat forced marriage" - Qantara.de. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Mouez Khalfaoui: Islam and Muslims in Europe . LIT Verlag Münster, 2016, ISBN 978-3-643-13551-3 ( google.de [accessed on May 25, 2020]).
  5. ↑ socialnet Reviews: Mouez Khalfaoui, Matthias Möhring-Hesse: A working society - also for Muslims | socialnet.de. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  6. ↑ NewsFullview landing page | University of Tübingen. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Khalfaoui, Mouez
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Tunisian scholar of Islam
DATE OF BIRTH 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Tunisia