The establishment of Muslim knowledge production at European universities lies at the center of two conflicting views: religious and academic freedom on the one hand, and political interest in religion as a faith and as a classification system on the other hand. Political and (civic) societal actors and institutions formulate demands on Islamic-theological studies that shape them into a multifunctional tool for religious-, integration- and education policies. Subsequently, these studies are criticized as a theologization of social problems reducing the rich knowledge of Islam to contextually relevant aspects.

The conference aims to reflect on the development of Islamic knowledge and its relationship with the discursive and political order. In doing so, both historical and contemporary issues are raised: What positions exist in the tradition and present time on the relationship between Islamic theology and political order? What experiences can the Islamic tradition offer to deal with political order systems? How did and how do Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic law and Kalam for example deal with ruling systems?