The International Centre for Advanced Islamic Research (ICAIR) is pleased to announce an upcoming virtual seminar entitled “The Ethics of Karbala”, to be held on Sunday, July 21st, at 3pm UK Time.

This virtual seminar is based on Professor Cyrus Ali Zargar’s new book, The Ethics of Karbala, in which he investigates the relationship between sacred narratives and the development of character. He makes a case that the Karbala narrative installs its audience with a “warrior ethos” that encourages care, compassion, and selflessness.

The book is the first of its kind in taking a virtue ethics approach to the study of Islamic history. It offers an ethical analysis of arguably the most pivotal moment in Islamic history. To do so, it makes use of interdisciplinary methods, especially global philosophy and religious studies, and draws on philosophical concepts spanning from Nietzsche to Iqbal.

Cyrus Ali Zargar is Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida. Zargar’s research interests focus on the metaphysical, aesthetic, literary and ethical dimensions of Islam’s mystical traditions. His recent publications include Religion of Love: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ʿAṭṭār and The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism.