Steven Lenzer over at the Weekly Standard laments not only the loss, but the total lack of attention given to liberal Islamic philosopher Mushin Mahdi’s passing. Read the article here.
Though I’m not entirely familiar with his work, Mahdi is of a certain clique of Islamic philosophers (mostly identified with the Cairo school) who are working on a theory of a “development of doctrine” for Islam. This is important for several reasons, Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensberg address and the controversy over whether Islam can have a development of doctrine notwithstanding.