Frank Griffel

Louis M. Rabinowitz Professor of Religious Studies 

Frank Griffel, Ph.D. Free University of Berlin, faculty member at Yale since 2000: Your extraordinary scholarship and teaching on Islamic intellectual history, theology, and philosophy, both ancient and modern, have made you a central figure in medieval religious thought. 

Your 2009 landmark book, al-Ghazālī’s Philosophical Theology, focuses on Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111 A.D.), the most significant premodern Islamic thinker besides Muhammad. In this widely praised, erudite work you present an entirely new account of al-Ghazālī’s life and set out to demonstrate that al-Ghazālī is the first Muslim thinker who “actively promotes the naturalization of the philosophical tradition into Islamic theology.” Your book has been described as “masterly,” a “veritable tour de force,” full of “detailed and profound analysis” and an “essential reading for those who wanting to understand with new depth and clarity al-Ghazālī’s life and teachings.” 

Your next significant monograph, published in 2021, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam, is a comprehensive study of the far-reaching changes that led to a reshaping of the philosophical discourse in Islam during the twelfth century. It, too, had stunningly good reviews. Reviewers called it “magnificent,” “outstanding,” and an “inspiring and thought-provoking contribution to our understanding of the post-classical era.” 

At Yale, you have engaged across Medieval Studies to contribute to a vision of global religious thought in that transformative period. You have taught large Yale College courses across two decades, introducing Islam, Islamic theology, and jihad. You served as chair of Religious Studies and the Council on Middle East Studies, particularly supporting Islamic studies, the study of Arabic literature, and medieval thought. 

Not only a fine scholar but a devoted teacher, you have been an especially wonderful creator of community for your graduate students, who will deeply miss you. We hope that, as you bike down Brasenose Lane in Oxford, you will reflect as warmly on your Yale colleagues and friends as they will think gratefully about the contributions you have made to intellectual and academic life in New Haven for the last quarter-century.