Imagining social justice with radical individuality with Prof Humeira Iqtidar

Focusing on the ideas of two important political figures, Moshir Husain Kidwai (1877-1937) and Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988), I argue here that an important contribution of South Asian Islamic socialists was to carve a clear space for the individual in socialism, expanding and co-producing socialism in capacious ways. Softening the emphasis on the state and sharpening the focus on individual responsibility, influential Islamic socialists connected the individual to the community and expanded the ways in which spiritual equality translated into racial equity. Critically assessing other claims made by Islamic socialists regarding the egalitarian thrust of the Islamic tradition, I explore the ideational resources for political and social equality within South Asian Islamic political thought, and the ways in which equality might be imagined, facilitated and constrained by existing repertoires of normative values.

Accessibility

An access guide to Darwin Building, Lecture Theatre B40 can be found on AccessAble.

About the speaker

Humeira Iqtidar is a Professor of Politics at King's College London. Her research explores questions of justice and tolerance with a particular focus on Islamic thought and South Asia. Her work considers the role that religion as well as colonial legacies have played in shaping political imagination and politics of knowledge. Arguing for greater interdisciplinarity, she has sought to expand the methodological repertoire political theorists draw upon, particularly to engage with marginalized people's and traditions. An important area of interest has been institutional development in the Global South as well as fostering South-South collaborations. Her most recent publication is "Justice Beyond Rights: Haqq and Global South Migration" American Political Science Review, September 2024. 

About this event series

Dreams, Desires and Aspirations: Imaginative Landscapes of Prosperity

At UCL Institute for Global Prosperity we are working towards a new model of prosperity for the 21st century, reworking the way we conceive and run our economies, our societies, and our relationship with the planet. Our social and collective imaginaries, dreams, and aspirations are at the core of that mission, not only in understanding how people strive towards ideas of prosperity, but in unearthing how and why different ideas are constructed as they are. This term, we are inviting scholars, novelists, politicians, artists, and film-makers to help us excavate some of the imaginary forces that brought ‘prosperity’ to where it is today, and where it might be taken tomorrow.

Director's Seminars are an opportunity for audiences to get an in-depth theoretical perspective on sustainable and inclusive prosperity. These Seminars are given by academics who are pushing for new ways of thinking and new ways of researching society's grand challenges.

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