Ibn Rushd (Averroes) is considered as the most important of the Islamic philosophers. He set out to integrate Aristotelian philosophy with Islamic thought. A common theme throughout his writings is that there is no incompatibility between religion and philosophy when both are properly understood. His contributions to philosophy took many forms, ranging from his detailed commentaries on Aristotle, his defence of philosophy against the attacks of those who condemned it as contrary to Islam and his construction of a form of Aristotelianism which cleansed it of Neoplatonic influences. This short article outlines the main features of his life, thought and influence.

In this long and well written article, Dr Ibrahim Kalin, based on his thorough study of the history of philosophy, analyzes the categories of reason and rationality within the Islamic intellectual context as it was shaped by the foundational theory underlying the Qur'an and as developed by the Islamic theological and intellectual tradition. Dr Kalin argues that far from being a self-standing entity, reason functions within a larger context of meaning and existence, intelligibility, and moral thinking. He shows clearly how the Quranic perspective of rationality moves us beyond the internal workings of a single, disengaged mind and places us with a larger context of ontological significance.

In this short note, Dr Nayef Al-Rodhan outlines his theory of history about sustainable history and the dignity of man. He explains how sustainable history is propelled by good governance, which balances the tension between the attributes of human nature – emotionality, amorality and egoisms – and human dignity needs, such as reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation and inclusiveness. The author proposes minimum criteria for good governance that are sensitive to local cultures and histories but meet certain common global values to ensure maximum and sustainable moral and political cooperation.

In the following short report, we present a summary of the lecture presented by Professor Peter Adamson in the Muslim Heritage Awareness Group (MHAG) meeting organized by FSTC in London on 30 March 2011. In his lecture, Professor Adamson spoke about the research project he is currently running in the Philosophy Department at King's College in London: "Natural Philosophy in the Islamic World." The project aims to explore the broad notion of "natural philosophy" in Islamic philosophy, especially in the crucial period of the 9th-10th centuries CE, when Ancient philosophy was appropriated and naturalized in the linguistic and intellectual Arabic and Islamic context.