In Celebration of Islamic History Month 2026
In Celebration of Islamic History Month in October 2026
The ECMC Chair In Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta,
in collaboration with the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities, the Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights; the Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS); the Department of Political Science; and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS) at the University of Alberta, is pleased to present an invitation-only event featuring the Keyonte Address by Dr. Ingrid Mattson, the London & Windsor Community Chair of Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for Islamic Theology, Ethics & Spirituality at Huron University College in London, Canada.
When: Saturday October 31, 2026, 9 AM
Where: Faculty Club, University of Alberta
"Animated and Empowered by God – Islamic Ontology and the Ethics Governing Interfaith, Human, and Non-Human Relations"
Abstract:
The major ontological division in Islamic Theology is between the Creator and all created beings. While scientific categories of being – animal, vegetable, mineral – have some functional utility, they efface the reality that no created being – including the human - has absolute agency or existence; all are continually brought into being and are “animated” by a power outside of themselves. Human beings are distinguished by their acquisition of a limited form of agency – and thus, moral responsibility – and are empowered with a number of capacities (physical, intellectual, social, spiritual) which enable them uniquely to destroy or beneficially serve themselves and the rest of creation. This deeper, fundamental reality of existence is the starting point of a relational ethics for communities of faith and for humanity to live together, with purpose, among the community of created beings.
Bio.
Dr. Ingrid Mattson is the London & Windsor Community Chair of Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for Islamic Theology, Ethics & Spirituality (CITES) in the Faculty of Theology at Huron University College in London, Canada. Previously, she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary (CT, USA) where she founded and directed the first accredited professional program for Muslim chaplains in North America. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as Vice-President, then President, of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Dr. Mattson’s writings, which include the academic bestseller The Story of the Qur’an (2 nd ed, 2013), focus on Qur’anic Studies, Applied Islamic Ethics, and Interfaith Relations. Dr. Mattson has been the recipient of numerous honors, including an honorary Doctor of Divinity by Yale University in 2026.
