Unlike Catholicism with the Vatican and the pope, Islam has no central authority. And the recent furor over Muslim cartoons in Europe has exposed this void even more clearly. Richard Bulliet, author of “The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization,” explains that this void in authority in Islam is only increasing as Muslims reach out to various people and in […].
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Political Islam
The contrasts between different varieties of Islam, and Islamism, are not trivial—either in their teachings or the behaviour they inspire. The western world needs to know about them, if only to know which outcomes and shifts of policy are conceivable, and which are not. But woe betide any western strategist who thinks the problems of the Muslim world can b […].
Islam and Power
There is a tension in the Islamic world between the desire for democracy and a respect for liberty. (It is a tension that once raged in the West and still exists in pockets today.) This is most apparent in the ongoing fury over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a small Danish newspaper. The cartoons were offensive and needlessly provoc […].
The Key To Arab Reform: Moderate Islamists
Before any significant political reform can take place in the Arab world, the United States and Europe need to begin engaging moderate Islamists, an action less thorny than it might seem because Islamists have embraced democratic procedures and have shown a strong commitment to the rule of law. For a long time Arab regimes have frightened the United States […].
Towards A New Islamic Discourse
Islam is portrayed sometimes as if it were a monolithic or uni-dimensional entity. Islam is undoubtedly the faith of transcendental monotheism , the belief in Allah (the one and only God), who transcends both man and nature. But monotheism does not lead to monism (the metaphysical doctrine that existence is a whole and one); on the contrary, it leads to pl […].
Democracy, Justice, Fundamentalism and Religious Intellectualism
An interview with Abdulkarim Soroush* by Ali Asghar Seyyedabadi Q. Let’s start the discussion with the [June 2005] presidential elections if you don’t mind. The outcome can be linked on two counts to issues of interest to you: one is the question of justice, since some people believe that the government that emerged from the elections is a product of the […].
Social, Religious & Political Dimensions of Prejudice: Reflection of a Muslim (I)
Who am I? Where do I come from? In two sentences, I am a South African Muslim male from an impoverished working class background who was reared in a gang-infested area by a single parent. Many of our neighbours were Christians and the debt collectors – of which there were always many – were invariably Jewish. Who am I? Where do I come from? In two senten […].
Islamic Civilization in Globalization: From Islamic futures to a Postwestern civilization
Abstract: Islam can be seen as a counter discourse to globalization, to the expansion of economic space and the fulfillment of the dreams of the social darwinists. However, even as Islam attempts to create new possibilities for globalism, national politics doom it to a politics of reaction, of reducing diversity and innovation. This is especially perilou […].
The Problem With Coercive Democratization
In a rare display of solidarity, Islamist and secular nationalist opposition leaders have joined forces with governments officials to denounce the U.S. democracy initiative as a blatant case of foreign intervention into the affairs of sovereign Arab states. […].
Globalized Islam
Muslims, like other immigrants, have come to the West in search of better economic opportunities. But are they bound to clash with their Western counterparts ? In this Globalist Interview, Olivier Roy — author of “Globalized Islam : The Search For a New Ummah” — explains that, due to globalization, these two groups actually have much more in common today t […].