June 12, 2024
On May 24, a commemorative lecture titled, "A Feast of Civilisations: The Life and Mind of Toshihiko Izutsu," by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was held at Keio University's Mita Campus. A total of about 130 people attended the lecture, including officials from the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office and the Embassy of Malaysia in Japan. Participants from Keio University included Vice-President Tsuchiya, students, faculty, and staff members.
At the beginning of the lecture, Vice-President Tsuchiya delivered a welcome address to Prime Minister Anwar on behalf of Keio University, where he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to honor the memory of the late Toshihiko Izutsu, a philosopher, linguist, Islamic scholar, and professor emeritus at Keio University's Faculty of Letters.
In his speech, Prime Minister Anwar lauded the Japanese translation of the Koran as one of Toshihiko Izutsu's greatest achievements, which was possible only because of Izutsu's fluency in Arabic and other afro-asiatic languages, allowing him to grasp and appreciate the essence of the original text. Izutsu approached his religious studies with empathy, something he posited as a prerequisite for communication to overcome differences. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of having this empathy in today's world, which is rife with perpetual conflicts between different faiths, ethnicities, and political affiliations. He then concluded the lecture by stating that in order to build a global society that can overcome the ongoing division and intolerance in the world, we must carry on Izutsu's legacy and strive to establish empathy and dialogue.
During the post-speech Q&A session, students in the audience asked questions pertaining to the coexistence of people of different faiths and ethnicities, for instance, between Malaysian and Japanese people. The audience listened intently to Prime Minister Anwar's words throughout the commemorative lecture.
Photographer: Takeshi Kishi