Can there be such a thing as Islamic human rights? Do the commandments set forth in the Koran have eternal validity, or can they be modified according to the demands of reason? Iranian clergyman Mohammad Shabestari has devoted his life to exploring these issues in modern religious and political Islamic thinking. By Roman Seidel Mohammad Mojtahed Shabesta […].
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Let Us Be Moors: Islam, Race and “Connected Histories”
“Seamos moros!” wrote the Cuban poet and nationalist José Martíí in 1893, in support of the Berber uprising against Spanish rule in northern Morocco. “Let us be Moors…the revolt in the Rif…is not an isolated incident, but an outbreak of the change and realignment that have entered the world. Let us be Moors…we [Cubans] who will probably die by the ha […].
Existing Political Vessels Cannot Contain the Reform Movement.
Interview with Sai’id Hajjarian. Introdution: Sai’id Hajjarian, a leading theorist of the democratic Islamist New Left, is one of President Khatami’s closest political advisers. In 1998 he ran for the Tehran City Council, receiving the second largest number of votes. Hajjarian is also the official permit holder for the daily Sobh-e Emrooz and serves on […].
Intellectual Autobiography.
Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. Sadri: I would like to ask you for an account of your intellectual development. I am certainly interested in whether you distinguish any turning points, watersheds, or distinct periods in the evolution of your thought. Soroush: In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful, thank you for giving me this opportunity […].
“Universal form of Islam”.
Interview with Chandra Muzaffar *. This interview took place on Oct. 10, 2001 How has the practice of Islam changed or the influence on Islam changed over the last 20, 30 years in Malaysia ? As in a number of other post-colonial societies, Muslims in Malaysia have become very conscious of their Islamic identity. And they have sought and expressed that […].
“What the Muslim World Needs More Than Ever Is a Culture of Dignity”
Conversation with Chandra Muzaffar (1). by Farish A. Noor (2) Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse, complex and dynamic parts of the world today. Up till the financial collapse of the so-called ‘tiger economies’ of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in 1997, the region witnessed double-digit annual economic growth and sociocultural transformation on […].
“We need new intellectual tools for the age we live in”.
Conversation with Ebrahim Moosa (1). by Farish A. Noor (2) You are mostly known for the work that you have done on contemporary Muslim thought and Muslim thinkers of the 20 t h century. Yet despite the enormous changes that have taken place all over the Muslim world, we see that Muslim intellectual activity has arrived at an impasse. Muslim societies se […].
“The Compatibility of Islam, Secularism and Modernity”.
Conversation with Asghar Ali Engineer (1) by Farish A. Noor (2) You are known in many parts of the Muslim world for a number of things: your work on women’s rights in Islam, your struggle against religious intolerance and sectarianism, and your studies on secularism. You are seen as a Muslim modernist and you have often spoken about the compatibility of […].
The Responsibilities of the Muslim intellectual in the 21st Century.
Professor Abdolkarim Soroush is an Iranian philosopher and social scientist who is currently based at the Institute for Epistemological Research in Tehran, Iran. A well-known scholar and Islamist intellectual in Iran and abroad, his writings have been widely disseminated both in print and via the Internet. In Iran, he is seen as an advocate of institutiona […].
Intellectuals: The Powerless Wielders of Power – 3 –
Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. By SA’ID RA’I for the Iranian Labour News Agency,January 2004. Translated by Nilou Mobasser. Intellectuals: The Powerless Wielders of Power. (page 3 of 3) SA’ID RA’I: In a speech you made ten years ago, under the title Shariati and the Theoretical Reconstruction of Religion, you said: « Some of our clerics have been […].