Beauty: recovering a forgotten dimension of the Islamic tradition

Sheikh Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour explores how the Islamic tradition has always been shaped by beauty. The Islamic tradition has never been without beauty, whether it be in its mosques, manuscripts, calligraphy, poetry, music or devotional practices. However, this beauty is often treated as ornamental rather than essential to religious life. In this talk, Sheikh Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour challenges this and explores how the Islamic tradition has always been shaped by the beautiful, and how Sufism in particular resisted the idea that beauty sits at the margins of faith. Together we'll consider what it means to restore beauty to the centre of Islam's higher purposes. This talk asks: What has happened to beauty? Why has it been sidelined? And what should happen now? By reflecting on the Qur’anic usage of ?usn, i?s?n, a?san and ?asana, and drawing on the spiritual tradition of Sufism, it argues that the higher objective of Islamic spirituality is the pursuit, preservation and realisation of beauty; not as aesthetics alone, but as human transformation. Spirituality should not merely teach us to recognise beauty, but to become beautiful in character, conduct, relationships and community. The recovery of beauty, then, is not a return to ornament; it is a recovery of purpose. Open to all. No prior knowledge required. As part of the Cambridge Festival of the Islamic Arts, and due to limited capacity, doors will close shortly before the advertised start time. Attendees are advised to arrive 15 minutes early. About the speaker Sheikh Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour is Imam of Bath Mosque, a lecturer at Al-Azhar University, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford. A valedictorian graduate of Al-Azhar and hafiz of the Qur'an, he holds a PhD in Comparative Theology from SOAS and is the author of The Higher Objectives of Islamic Theology (Oxford University Press, 2022). About the respondent Professor Ben Quash is Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. Previously Chair in Christianity & the Arts at King's College London, he is General Editor of The Visual Commentary on Scripture, a major open-access resource bringing together scholars in theology, biblical studies and art history. Advance registration is essential. Part of the Cambridge Festival of the Islamic Arts, 19-29 November 2026.