Scott is a PhD student in Islamic studies and a 2022 recipient of the Ibrahim Rashed Summer Research Grant in the Islamic Religious Sciences.

As the recipient of this award, I will be reading through and analyzing a 17th century manuscript in Islamic theology and philosophy titled The Aim of the Path, written by the understudied Kurdish scholar Ibrahīm al-Kurānī. This text, which remains unedited, outlines many of the most important questions of theology as they stood in the 17th century after a millennium of development and dialectic throughout Islamic history. These questions include questions regarding the nature of God and the universe as well as the relationship of reason with revelation and most importantly the role of revelation in determining the limits of reason. 

What does your work focus on / revolve around?

My work revolves on the intellectual history of the Islamic world, with a focus on theology, philosophy, and philosophical Sufism. Specifically, my focus is on 17th and 18th century scholarly circles between Damascus and the Hijaz (Mecca and Medina), circles which greatly influenced other regions of the Muslim world including South and South-East Asia. 

Why study religion? / Why is what you study important?

The study of religion to me is an active pursuit to better understand the manifold ways that human beings throughout history have understood their place in this world as well as their relationship with the most profound aspects of our shared universe. My work is important because I am focusing on an understudying and poorly understood period in the history of Islamic thought. I work to better understand the dynamics of this period, often misconstrued as a period of civilizational decline, through its intellectual output and the nature of the questions its authors were asking. In doing so, I show that rather than being a period of stagnation and emulation, this was a period of active intellectual development, lively scholarly debate, and real investigations into the nature of God and the relationship between reason and revelation.

Who or what inspires you and your work?

During my time at the Divinity School, I have benefited greatly from the faculties’ willingness and passion to help us students navigate the complexities of pursuing a Doctorate. I have been particularly fortunate to work with Dr. Yousef Casewit, who has a great gift in reducing the stress of achieving the various benchmarks that qualify the graduate students career and helping his students move forward step-by-step through the program in a way that is both manageable but also geared towards setting his students up for future success.