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Islam, the Modern World, and the West: Contemporary Topics
Table of Contents
General Considerations
Islam, Peace, Jihad, Violence, and
Terrorism
Islam and
Globalization
Islam and Democracy
Islam and Human Rights
Islam, Exclusivism, and Pluralism
Islam and Women
Islam and Slavery
Islam and Ecology
Islam and AIDS
Islam and Media
Islam, Business, and Economics
Liberal, Post-Liberal, and Progessive
Islam
The Future of Islam
Islam, Alterity, and
Othering
Islam in the Modern World: Miscellaneous
Sites
Islam, the
Modern World, and the West: General Considerations
Many students are shocked when they realize that modern Euro-American culture
is the embodiment of a multi-dimensional world view or belief system that
is commonly called "modernism." Some of the beliefs of modernism in comparison
to Islam are discussed by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, professor at George Washington
University and one of the foremost scholars of Islam, in his article
Reflections
on Islam and Modern Life.
One of the most significant political dimensions of modernism was modern
Euro-American imperialism. A brief comment on this imperialism and its
devastation is the note Edward
Said on Imperialism. A world renown professor of Comparative Literature
at Columbia University, Said wrote a highly influential, paradigm shifting
book Orientalism [at Amazon.com],
which deals with Euro-American imperialism and its distorting influence
on the writings of Western scholars about non-Western cultures. Subsequently
Said wrote Covering
Islam [at Amazon.com], which focuses on how Euro-American scholars
and journalists slant what they write about Islam. A recent interview with
Said originally published on 27 March 1999 in the International Herald Tribune is Roots of the West's
Fear of Islam (Link fixed 25 August 2002; 15 March 2006).
Western attitudes to Islam are portrayed in the scholarly article The
Utility of Islamic Imagery in the West, written by Prof. J. A. Progler
of City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn College and in the excellent
readings at the site
Imaging Islam and Muslims (link fixed 17 August 2005).
The political significance of Islam is certainly the most important
reason why Islam has been occupying center stage in the world
consciousness at the outset of the 21st century.
One essay published after 9/11 that can provide a useful focus in thinking
about the political dimensions of Islam today is Theorizing
Islam by Professor Richard Bulliet of Columbia University. This
work is among the many informative articles published by the Social
Science Research Council (an independent NGO which is probably the
chief funding agency for all varieties of social
science research in the world) on its website After September 11:
Perspectives from the Social Sciences
The on-line journal ISIM
Newsletter, which is produced by the International Institute for the
Study of Islam in the Modern World at Leiden University is an excellent
source containing numerous articles. Issue
#1, Issue
#2, and
Issue
#3.
Unfortunately, in their writings on Islam, many Western non-Muslims
have been motivated not merely by an enlightened desire to understand but
rather by desires to dominate and control.
Such desires -- based somewhere between the extremes of lust for Western
political and economic domination, on the one hand, and fear of Islamic
domination, on the other -- may not always take on the obvious polemical
overtones found in some "orientalist" discourse or the in hate/scare-literature
distributed by certain Western religious or political groups.
Sometimes, in the writings of today's post-orientalists or neo-orientalists,
the anti-Islamic polemic is subtly marshalled by innuendo and by ironic
comments, the metatext of which is that "We --I, the scholar, and you my
Western readers -- are superior to Islam and Muslims."
Among the various polemics flung by non-Muslims toward Islam are that
Islam advocates violence and terrorism, restricts basic human rights, oppresses
women, and promotes slavery. In other words, non-Muslims often criticize
Islam on the grounds that it advocates beliefs and actions that perpetrate
injustices. Nevertheless, Muslims base their beliefs primarily on the Qur'an,
and the Qur'an states unequivocally that God does not act in unjust manner
(as in the following verses: "... and not one will thy Lord treat with
injustice" [Surat al-Kahf (the Cave):49], and "Allah is never unjust in
the least degree: if there is any good (done), He doubleth it, and gives
from His Own Self a great reward" [Surat an-Nisa (Women):40]). Hence, God
cannot have revealed Islam as a force which should impose injustice on
people, and Muslims must similarly neither act in an unjust manner nor
formulate Islam in unjust manner. Dr. Aziza al-Hibri has concisely summed
up this principle, "If something is unjust, it is un-Islamic."
Clearing the Sludge of Islamophobia
from Legitimate Concerns , a short essay by Dr. Godlas
Islam, Peace, Jihad, Violence, and Terrorism
See the separate page on the issue of
Islam, Peace, Jihad, Violence, and Terrorism
Islam and Globalization
Globalisation
Anthony Giddens first Reith Lecture, delivered in 1999. Although
this article does not deal
with Islam, I believe that it is useful to understand
globalization per se before thinking about it in relationship to
Islam.
Tradition,
the title of Prof. Giddens' third lecture, deals with tradition,
especially fundamentalism,
in a globalized world. He touches on Islam in the course of his
third lecture. A
sociologist described as "Britain's best-known
social scientist since Keynes," Professor
Giddens in 1999 was the
director of the
London School of Economics.
Islam and Globalization: Secularism,
Religion, and Radicalism", a well-documented scholarly article
by
Sean L. Yom in Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft
(International Politics and Society) (April, 2002).
Islam and Democracy
Islam and
the Challenge of Democracy by Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl of
the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Abou El Fadl
is no doubt one of the leading America-based Muslim scholars of
Islamic
law. Here he presents his paper, which is then followed by
the responses
of a number of scholars and then El Fadl's
replies to them. (Boston Review, April/May 2003.)
Islam,
Islamists, and Democracy by Prof. Ali Abootalebi, Assistant Professor
of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin. Prof. Abootalebi categorizes
recent Islamic movements as fundamentalist or Islamist. The key distinction
he makes between the two is that the "Islamist" movements involve "progressive"
'ulama (Muslim scholars) and other intellectuals who see freedom and democracy
as important dimensions of an Islamic society. The fundamentalist or traditionalist
movements, on the other hand, believe that the 'ulama' should control the
direction of the society. After touching on the viewpoints of some of the
leaders of Islamic movements, Prof. Abootalebi discusses the issue of "Islam
and civil society." He concludes by sketching out the process by which
"Islamic" democracies may become established. (Linked fixed, October 10,
1999)
Islam
and Democracy: Benazir, Hasina, and Erbakan an editorial by Prof. Saad
Eddin Ibrahim, briefly expresses the optimistic assessment of a number
of scholars that Islamists (Muslim activists and fundamentalists) are becoming
and capable of becoming "Islamic Democrats." This was published in Civil
Society: Democratization in the Arab World, a publication of the Ibn
Khaldoun Center For Development Studies, Vol. 5, #56, August, 1996. (Link
fixed, July 14, 2000 and March, 2004)
Civil
Society in the Arab World by Martin Gilbraith, explores the concept
of "civil society" and discusses the possibilities for democratization
in the Arab world as well as the obstacles to it. Published in Civil
Society: Democratization in the Arab World, Volume 5, Issue 58, October
1996. (Link fixed, July 14, 2000 and March, 2004)
Islam and Human Rights
Muslim
Voices in the Human Rights Debate (link fixed 17 August 2005) is a scholarly article by
Professor
Heiner Bielefeldt of Tubingen University in Germany. This comprehensive
article is from the journal Human Rights Quarterly 17.4 (1995)
587-617. (Link fixed, March 2004)
Islam
and Freedom of Expression,
written by Dr. Fathi Osman, a Muslim thinker living in the US, argues
that freedom
of expression is a basic human right in Islam. (Link fixed 9 June
2001.)
Universal
Islamic
Declaration of Human Rights, which was announced at the International Conference on
The Prophet Muhammad and his Message, held in London from 12 to 15 April
1980. (Link fixed, March 2004)
Islam, Exclusivism, and Pluralism
The Place
of Tolerance in Islam by Khaled Abou El Fadl. Professor El
Fadl, of UCLA, also responds here to a number of scholarly
responses to
his paper (Boston Review, Feb/March 2002).
On Pluralism, Intolerance, and
the Quran a scholarly but easily grasped and timely article by Dr. Ali Asani,
professor at Harvard University, originally published
in The American Scholar volume 71, no. 1 (winter 2002), pp. 52-60.
Islam and Women
Islam and Women's
Rights Throughout history, the strong have oppressed the weak, and
men have oppressed women. Unfortunately, Muslim men have often not been
an exception to this rule. Nevertheless, Muslims assert that in such cases
the fault lies not with Islam but rather with the inadequacy of Muslim
men. The links compiled here--largely written by Muslim women--contradict
the popular but mistaken notion held in the West that Islam is oppressive
to women.
Islam and Slavery
Slavery in Islam
Written by the scholars of the "The Wisdom Fund," this page contains useful
source material. See also my notes on African-American Islam and slavery.
Islam and Ecology
Islam and Ecology,
an on-line article from the scholarly journal, Cross Currents, written
by Marjorie Hope and James Young. The bulk of this article is the text
of the authors' interview with Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr. In addition,
the authors compare Nasr's viewpoint with that of Thomas Berry, one of
today's most significant eco-philosophers.
Islam and AIDS
Positive
Muslims a South African based website focusing on the issues
facing HIV positive Muslims. Among other points noted on the
website
are that heterosexual transmission is now the main form of HIV
transmission in South Africa and that a number of Muslim scholars
('ulama) are HIV positive.
The National Muslims
AIDS Initiative is a website developed at Bronx Community College of
the City University of New York through funding from the Ford Foundation.
Among other things this site contains information about the Islamic perception
of AIDS prevention and Islamic guidance for Muslims afflicted with AIDS.
Islam and Media
Islam, Animation,
and Money: the Reception of Disney's Aladdin in Southeast Asia is a
well-documented and nuanced article written by Timothy White and J. E.
Winn in the on-line journal KINEMA (Spring, 1995).
Islam, Business, and Economics
The Issue of Riba'
(charging interest) in Islamic Faith and Law is a scholarly article by Dr. Abdulaziz
Sachedina of the University of Virginia.
society, and democratization. Islam is mentioned in various places throughout
the article, but is discussed in particular with regard to the relationship
between ethnicity and the vision of contemporary Islamists.
Liberal, Post-Liberal, and Progessive Islam
A Liberal Islamic Website by Zeeshan
Hasan (BA, Oberlin; MDiv,
Harvard), a writer and "theologian at large" from Bangladesh. The site contains his
spirited
articles on subjects such as Islam and non-violence, feminism, human rights, Islam
without Islamic law, logic and religion, sexual ethics, and Islamic economics.
Liberal
Islam: Prospects and Challenges written by Charles Kurzman, Professor
of Sociology at North Carolina State University (Chapel Hill). Professor
Kurzman looks at three general categories of the approaches of Muslim advocates
of liberal Islam as well as at various Muslim critiques of liberal Islam.
The author's own position expressed implicitly in the article is that of
advocacy of liberalism. This article was published online in MERIA, vol.
3, no. 3, September, 1999.
Western Orientalism
and Liberal Islam, a lecture delivered at the Middle East Studies Association
(MESA) annual meeting in Providence, RI by Abdallah Laroui, Fulbright 50th
Anniversary Distinguished Fellow, and reprinted from the MESA Bulletin,
Vol 31, No. 1, July 1997. (Fixed 28 Oct. 1998; and fixed 5 July 2002)
Muslims for Progressive Values
Muslim Wake Up!
The writers associated with Muslim Wake Up! are
attempting to articulate
a progressive Islam. Many Muslims will no doubt
argue that some of what is included at this website is not cutting
edge but over the edge.
Khaled
Abou El Fadl Professor Abou El Fadl, an expert in Islamic law
at UCLA, is most likely the leading
progressive Muslim scholar in the world.
Progressive
Muslims Network
Islam and Social Justice
Page (link fixed 17 August 2005)
Dr. Jihad's
Text Files About Islam consist of a number of online articles by Dr.
Jeremiah MacAuliffe, an American convert to Islam.
The Future of Islam
The
Coming Transformation of the Muslim World Written by Professor Dale
Eickelman, a well-respected scholar of the Anthropology and Islam at Dartmouth
College, this article was originally a talk given as the 1999 Templeton
Lecture on Religion and World Affairs.
Islamic Resurgence:
Challenges, Directions & Future Perspectives (link fixed 17 August 2005) is an on-line publication
of the edited transcripts of discussions between the well-known Muslim
activist Professor Khurshid Ahmad and a number of prominent Western scholars
of Islam. Edited by the Muslim scholar Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, editor of the
scholarly journal The Muslim World and professor at The Hartford
Seminary, this text provides readers with a well-nuanced and first-hand
view of the ideology of contemporary Islamic activism.
The Islam, Alterity, and Othering
At the beginning of the 21st century, of the most significant events on
the world stage is the civilizational conflict between the "West" and
"Islamic civilizations." In this conflict, from the perspective of
what I call "discordant relations theory," each party is actively
involved in the "process of alterity (otherness)", namely in "othering"
the opposing
party. Such "othering" (involving psychological and socio-cultural
distancing) is a key step in the downward attitudinal
spiral that may be followed by
dehumanizing and
subsequently demonizing. These three steps: othering, dehumanizing, and
demonizing are attitudinal changes that may be correlated with the
downward
behavioral spiral of control, exploitation (including
colonization and enslavement), and
violence. On the other hand, there is a less traveled road, the
dialogical approach, which, from the perspective of harmonious
relations theory, aims at the goal of working together to mutually solve
the problems that give rise to the conflict. To this end there is the
upward attitudinal spiral of differance, hermeneutical understanding
(understanding of the intrasystemic coherence of one's own views-- that
they fit
together and make
sense -and understanding the intrasystemic coherence of the views of
the other), and mutual causal understanding of both parties problems.
This
upward attitudinal spiral may be correlated with an upward behavioral
spiral leading to mutually focused action that can rectify the causes of
a
conflict.
A useful website that discusses "othering" is Definitions
of Othering by Professor Melanie Ulrich of the University of Texas
at Austin.
An article that deals with some of these issues is
Representing Islam: A Critique of Language and Reality by Professor
Tazim Kassam of Syracuse University.
Islam in the Modern World: Miscellaneous
Sites
Islam
in the Modern World Written by the Muslim scholars of ISL Software,
this article includes brief discussions of the situation of the Muslim
world after the colonial period, Islamic revival, and education and science
in the contemporary Muslim world.
Prince
Charles on Islamic Spirituality and the Decline of the West (link fixed 17 August 2005)
The
Alternative, written by an American Muslim, is a fascinating
and deep new
Islamic novel "concerning the sweetness and
sublimity of essential Islam." (Link fixed, June 12, 2003)
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