I greatly enjoyed my experience as a Visiting Fellow at AMI. The campus and grounds made for a very pleasant and reflective setting, but what made the fellowship especially valuable was the faculty and wider community. I found the academic environment diverse, intellectually stimulating, and generous. I benefited a great deal from conversations with scholars working in different areas of Islamic studies, and from their expertise in their respective fields. I also appreciated the broader community that AMI fosters, including its important spiritual programming, particularly during Muḥarram.

The Institute is doing important academic work, especially in fostering critical scholarship on a wide range of subjects across the Islamic tradition. What struck me was the seriousness with which AMI approaches the study of Islam in its philosophical, textual, historical, and spiritual dimensions. The academic environment is lively and rigorous but also collegial and welcoming. It is a place where serious research is encouraged, and where scholars from different fields can engage meaningfully and cordially with one another.

During my fellowship, I was involved in several academic activities. I presented a paper at AMI’s conference on a critique of presential knowledge. I also gave a seminar on Dawānī’s novel articulation and defense of Avicenna’s argument for God’s existence (i.e., “demonstration of the truthful”). In addition, I recorded a podcast with AMI in which we discussed Avicenna and the importance of Avicennian philosophy, both historically and today. I will also be teaching a short course with AMI on Avicennian theology. Alongside these activities, I was able to write and complete the first draft of an article on Ibn Kammūna and divine simplicity.