On Iqbal, Philosophy and Language: An Interview with Dr. Sabrina Lei

 Dr Sabrina Lei, Director of Tawasul Europe Centre for Dialogue and Research, is an emerging Italian Muslim philosopher and thinker.  Trained in Latin, Greek and ancient philosophy for over a decade, with a PhD from Pontifical Gregorian University (one of the prominent centres of Catholic scholarship in Rome)  in ancient Greek philosophy.  Dr Sabrina has, so far, translated  over 25  Muslim classics into Italian, besides producing her own five books, including a  biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the  recently released book : Le comunita religioso non-musulmane nel mondo islamico : Un introduzione storica ( The non-Muslim Religious Community in the Muslim World : A Historical Introduction, March 2019). Some of her noted achievements include acclaimed Italian translations of Muhammad Iqbal’s philosophical reflection on Islam called The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.  Dr Sabrina is currently working to publish a new edition of Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s original English Quran translation, with an introductory study, to address the growing need for Quran translations with an inclusive and refined language in the West. This new edition of Yusuf Ali’s Quran translation is set to be published by Tawasul Europe later this year, insha Allah.

Dr Sabrina is also currently in the final phase of her study on  the first Latin translation of the Quran (Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete, 1143). This study, backed up by linguistic, theological and philosophical insights, is set to show how this  translation  internalized and solidified many of the medieval Christian subjective notions about Islam, the Quran and Prophet (peace be upon him), and how it went on to  influence the later western approaches to the Quran translation, etc. 

Tawasul Europe, a registered Italian Muslim charity-cum- think tank, founded by Dr Sabrina, is at the forefront of building bridges across cultures and religions in Italy.  Tawasul Europe works with  Vatican’s Interfaith Section, Rome Municipality and the Grand Mosque of Rome, along with around 10 universities and educational centres in Italy.