In spite of the ubiquitous claim to “follow the Sunna”, Omid Safi contends that we as Muslims have largely forgotten about the profound prophetic character of the Prophet’s mission. This presentation is an attempt to remember the profoundly transformative challenge that the Prophet represented—and represents—to the spiritual, moral, economic, and political structure of human society then and NOW. Of particular emphasis will be the mystical qualities of the Prophet, highlighted during the Heavenly Ascension (mi’raj), the forgotten legacies of Islamic art related to the Prophet, and the mandate for a holistic and indivisible sense of justice. No background knowledge required or assumed.
Omid Safi is a leading public Muslim intellectual in America. He is a Professor of Islamic Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in contemporary Islamic thought and classical Islam. He is the past Chair for the Study of Islam at the American Academy of Religion, the largest international organization devoted to the academic study of religion.