Five Years of Renovatio: A Journey in Gratitude

“Wisdom is the lost property of the believer.”

The Prophet Muhammad s Five Years of Renovatio: A Journey in Gratitude

Zaytuna College launched its Renovatio journal in 2016 as a platform to feature original work inspired by the philosophical and ethical traditions of the great world religions, especially Islam, because we’re committed to the notion that these carriers of truth must collectively face the challenges presented by contemporary thought and culture. Five years later, by the grace of God, the publication has seen tremendous growth, and 2021 was clearly our most productive year yet, during which we nearly doubled our archive to almost 200 pieces on our website. We’re truly grateful for the $1 million in foundational grants that helped launch and sustain us and for the prayers and financial support of Zaytuna College donors. The heart of our enterprise remains the insightful scholars and public intellectuals, many of whom write regularly for Renovatio because they see it as a forum that reaches an audience committed to moral inquiry and spiritual growth. In five years, we have featured the work of more than sixty writers from diverse backgrounds. They include the philosophers Eva Brann, David Bentley Hart, Mark Delp, Shabbir Akhtar,

Caner Dagli, and Thomas Hibbs; the scholars of Islamic thought Sophia Vasalou, Oludamini Ogunnaike, John Walbridge, Rosabel Ansari, and Mohammad Fadel; the scholars of language and literature Scott Crider, Sarah Barnette, Renovatio: t Renovatio The Journal of ZayTuna College and Fr. Stephen Gregg; the historians Garry Wills and Sylviane Diouf; and Muslim theologians such he Jou R nal of Zaytuna College as Faraz Khan, Abdal Hakim Murad, and editor-in-chief Hamza Yusuf. In 2021, we released a major video series on the Seven renovatio.zaytuna.edu | fall 2021 vol.5, no.1 � Rosabel Ansari  Joshua Lee Harris Sarah Barnette  Thomas Hibbs Eva Brann  Faraz Khan Juan Cole  Andrew F. March Claus Dierksmeier  Esmé L. K. Partridge Deadly Series hosted by Hamza Yusuf, we posted numerous podcasts, videos, essays, and interviews with scholars on our website, Mohammad Fadel  Marwa al-Sabouni and in the fall, we released our eighth print edition. This new edition focuses on the timely and timeless matter of equality. The issue—titled “Are We One and the Same?”— includes compelling reflections on the theme, from Mohammed Fadel’s contrast of the principles of equality and nondomination in the Islamic legal tradition; to Eva Brann’s timely reminder that equality is a relation, not a state; to Thomas Hibbs’ argument that the study of the liberal arts, often criticized as an occupation for elites, advances the cause of equality.

Renovatio is an archetypal American phenomenon—America at its best. It is a faith-based journal that is lively in its topicality, open to deeply controversial issues, and intellectually competent without pedantry. It is, moreover, well edited and beautifully produced—in fact, full of visual pleasures.” eva Brann naTional humaniTies medal winner former dean, sT. John’s College “Zaytuna College has set a welcome example with its excellent publication, Renovatio, in which the three revelations—the Judaic, the

Christian, and the Islamic—are brought together in ways that show their intrinsic harmony, despite all the real differences.” roger sCruTon (1944–2020) PhilosoPher and auThor of How to Be a Conservative

Renovatio is a learned yet accessible journal which lives up to its Latin name and declared mission. Its editors and contributors seek innovation by exploring both received and novel seminal ideas in a style that appeals to intelligent and curious readers of any faith or ideological background.

This journal is a rare beacon of light amid the otherwise dark and bleak intellectual horizon of modern Islam.” shaBBir akhTar PhilosoPher, universiTy of oxford “The first accredited Muslim college in America does not seem the obvious Are We One and the Same? place to publish a learned journal moving so easily through the worlds of art, philosophy, and literature across the whole Western cultural spectrum. That is what makes it impressive.” garry wills PuliTZer PriZe winner Thor of LinCoLn at GettysBurG: tHe words tHat remade ameriCa

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vol. 5, no. 1 The bookstore now sells the entire Renovatio set for a special price.

one is enouGh to kill you

The Seven Deadly Sins in the Modern World

Hamza Yusuf in conversation with Eva Brann, Thomas Hibbs, Amir Sulaiman, William Cavanaugh, Anna Moreland, Robert George, Chris Hedges, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and His Excellency, Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The production of an exciting new video series highlights Renovatio’s past year. In “One Is Enough to Kill You,” Hamza Yusuf converses with scholars, leaders, and writers to explore one of religion’s most enduring conceptual frameworks, the Seven Deadly Sins. These conversations explore many questions, including these: • In a culture which exalts the sin of lust, is admonition necessarily the best tool for a course correction? • Can the sin of sloth propagate young men who yearn for war? • If we seek pleasure in eating, do we fall into the sin of gluttony? • And might it be easier to avert such deadly sins if we are fortified by our faith in God? These remarkable conversations, directed by noted filmmaker Omar Mullick to capture their warmth and intimacy, shed light on how the sins manifest themselves within us, illustrate their devastating consequences to our culture, and elucidate their corresponding virtues for all of us who struggle with sin.

renovatio.zaytuna.edu