Albabtain Professorship at Leiden University hosts Professor Julia Bray from Oxford
February 19, 2018
Professor Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain's Professorship at Leiden University in the Netherlands has commenced with its first activities, which commenced with a lecture by Professor Julia Bray from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The lecture was titled "Emotion in Arab Culture," and it relied on excerpts from the book "Al-Faraj Ba'd Al-Shiddah" (Relief after Hardship) by Judge Abu Ali Al-Muhsin bin Ali Al-Tanukhi, which includes stories of prophets who endured hardship and distress before finding relief.
Professor Bray discussed the control of anger and contentment, emphasizing that they are fundamental emotions influencing crucial decisions throughout the history of Islamic civilization. She concluded that studying emotions across different cultures can lead to similar results.
It is worth noting that Leiden University has entered into an agreement with the Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation for an Arab Culture Professorship, bearing Albabtain's name. The university is particularly interested in the Arabic language and culture, possessing significant collections of rare Arabic manuscripts, which will be subject to future collaboration with the Foundation.