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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2021

Mona Siddiqui
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

This book emerges from my Gifford lectures delivered at the University of Aberdeen in September 2016. I’d like to thank the Gifford Committee at Aberdeen for inviting me to give these prestigious lectures; it was an enormous honour. I would also like to thank the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh for giving me the space and time to think of how best to write the lectures for subsequent publication. During my academic career I have been privileged to sit on the Gifford committees at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and I know full well the deliberation that goes into thinking, discussing and then finally extending an invitation to someone. When I received the invitation from Professor Philip Ziegler to deliver the lectures in 2016, I knew almost instantly that my chosen theme would be human struggle alongside themes of suffering and hope. Struggle is both a personal and universal reality of human life and always present in theological, philosophical and sociological literature. Yet it has remained somewhat ignored in scholarship as historically greater attention has been given to the phenomenon of human suffering. The terms may often overlap and be used interchangeably and the definition remains a challenge. Struggle seems to be more about hope in the midst of all kinds of moral, societal and personal uncertainties; whereas suffering is often about a certain despair and anguish, a lostness of the human condition. Struggle is part of the learning process and should be expected as essential to life. Human beings can witness each other’s struggle and find mutual respect in the process, knowing that at the end of the struggle is a sense of personal achievement.

Type
Chapter
Information
Human Struggle
Christian and Muslim Perspectives
, pp. 1 - 7
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Introduction
  • Mona Siddiqui, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Human Struggle
  • Online publication: 11 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108609005.001
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  • Introduction
  • Mona Siddiqui, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Human Struggle
  • Online publication: 11 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108609005.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Mona Siddiqui, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Human Struggle
  • Online publication: 11 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108609005.001
Available formats
×