You can’t be moral on your own. That’s a radical idea in this time of moral outrage, but thriving in public life requires a sense of mutual accountability, belonging, and hospitality for each other.

Mona Siddiqui is a professor of religion and society, an author, commentator, and public intellectual, and she suggests that the virtues of loyalty, gratitude, hospitality, and hope can lead us through the common struggle of being human together, living forward into a thriving life of public faith and renewed moral imagination.

As Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, Assistant Principal for Religion and Society, and Dean international for the Middle-East at the University of Edinburgh, she is an international beacon of hope that we might find restoration, hospitality, and flourishing in our world of struggle. Working through questions of loyalty, responsibility, belonging, gratitude, robust faith, and what we owe each other, we can find abundant resources for thriving and spiritual health.

In this conversation with Mona Siddiqui, we discuss:

• What is a moral life?
• The connection between faith, spirituality, and living a moral life of responsibility and integrity
• The difference between cultivating virtuous character and doing justice
• How to thrive in a pluralistic society marked by constant struggle and conflict
• The promise of gratitude and hospitality in a life of thriving
• And how to pursue a hopeful, forward-looking approach to restoration in the wake of harm, loss, pain, and suffering.

Episode Highlights

• "Our moral life only becomes alive when we are in a relationship—you can't be moral on your own."
• "Life is all about searching. Life is all about introspection. Life is all about reflection."
• "The good life is hard; it's not about ease, but about living with accountability and responsibility."
• "Hospitality isn't just welcoming—it's negotiating belonging, loyalty, and a sense of shared life."
• "Gratitude can liberate, but it can also create hierarchies and transactional indebtedness."
• "Hope is not naive optimism—without hope, how do you live, build relationships, or carry forward at all?"

Helpful Links and Resources

• Follow Mona on X (Twitter) at @monasiddiqui7
• *Christians, Muslims, and Jesus,* by Mona Siddiqui
• Human Struggle, Christian and Muslim Perspectives, by Mona Siddiqui
• A Theology of Gratitude: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, by Mona Siddiqui
• My Way: A Muslim Woman’s Journey by Mona Siddiqui
• The Moral Maze, BBC Radio 4

Show Notes

• Mona Siddiqui’s personal background in Islamic jurisprudence and public theology
• “I got into Islamic jurisprudence because of personal connection and intellectual curiosity.”
• Navigating public discourse post-9/11 as a non-white, non-Christian scholar
• Importance of pluralism and living within diverse identities
• "I need to create a space that appeals to a wider audience—not just about what I think."
• Growing up with intellectual freedom in a traditional Islamic household
• How faith upbringing seeds lifelong moral introspection
• "You are always answering to yourself—you know when you have not lived rightly."
• Developing comparative theology through seminars with Christian scholars
• Overlapping themes between Islamic and Christian thought on the good life
• The significance of accountability over blanket forgiveness
• "Belonging is crucial to being a good citizen—you can’t flourish alone."
• Exploration of loyalty: loyalty to people vs loyalty to principles
• Civic loyalty and critical engagement with the state
• “Because I feel loyal to my country, I should also be its critic.”
• The role of prayer in cultivating internal moral awareness
• Reflection on virtues: gratitude, loyalty, hope
• The dark sides of gratitude and loyalty in institutions
• Parenting with a focus on integrity, accountability, and faithfulness
• “Live so that whatever you say in public, you can say at home—and vice versa.”
• Emphasis on public engagement: speaking clearly, making complex ideas accessible
• "Radio became a gift—people want complex ideas made simple and meaningful."
• Remaining hopeful despite the culture of outrage and cynicism
• Young people’s resilience and persistent hopefulness
• Hospitality as a fundamental ethic for creating trust and belonging
• Struggle as a normative, transformative experience that shapes flourishing
• "Thriving is not just freedom—it’s centering, writing, speaking, and deep human connection."
• The importance of relationships in thriving and flourishing
• “Most of us realize—relationships are the hardest, but the most rewarding.”
• Redefining gratitude: avoiding transactional gratitude, cultivating authentic gratefulness
• Struggle cultivates introspection, resilience, creativity, and a deeper moral life
• Pam King’s Key Takeaways
• I can’t be moral on my own. But my decisions are my own. In the end, living with integrity means living with virtue.
• Personal and public flourishing are deeply connected to our lives of faith and spirituality; and all of us need to bring the depths of our personal spiritual commitments into public life.
• We can offer hope and freedom from fear to each other when we expand our hospitality to all persons.
• The practice of gratitude in the face of our vulnerability is easier said than done—but is a strengthening response to uncertainty and suffering.
• And finally, human struggle is something we hold in common, and it can be redeemed for creativity, beauty, healing restoration, and a reminder of our dignity as human creatures.

About Mona Siddiqui

Mona Siddiqui is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, Assistant Principal for Religion and Society, and Dean international for the Middle-East at the University of Edinburgh.

Her research areas are primarily in the field of Islamic jurisprudence and ethics and Christian-Muslim relations. She’s the author of many books, including Human Struggle: Christian and Muslim Perspectives,Hospitality in Islam: Welcoming in God’s Name, and My Way: A Muslim Woman’s Journey. A scholar of theology, philosophy, and ethics, she’s conducted international research on Islam and Christianity, gratitude, loyalty and fidelity, hope, reconciliation and inter-faith theological dialogue, and human struggle.

Mona is well known internationally as a public intellectual and a speaker on issues around religion, ethics and public life and regularly appears as a media commentator on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland’s Thought for the Day and The Moral Maze.

A recipient of numerous awards and recognition, she is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, she gave the prestigious Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as an International Honorary Member. And Dr. Siddiqui was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, which is just steps below the highest Knighting—specifically for her public interfaith efforts.

To learn more, I’d highly recommend her books, but you can also follow her on X @monasiddiqui7.

About the Thrive Center

• Learn more at thethrivecenter.org.
• Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenter
• Follow us on X @thrivecenter
• Follow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter

About Dr. Pam King

Dr. Pam King is Executive Director the Thrive Center and is Peter L. Benson Professor of Applied Developmental Science at Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.  Follow her @drpamking.

About With & For

• Host: Pam King
• Senior Director and Producer: Jill Westbrook
• Operations Manager: Lauren Kim
• Social Media Graphic Designer: Wren Juergensen
• Consulting Producer: Evan Rosa

Special thanks to the team at Fuller Studio and the Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.