Islam, modernité et laïcité.

Même dans les pays appartenant à la même culture et traversant les mêmes avatars de l’histoire comme les pays musulmans avec leur combat commun pour la rénovation religieuse et contre la colonisation européenne, les processus de modernisation ne sont pas les mêmes. Même dans les pays appartenant à la même culture et traversant les mêmes avatars de l’hist […].

Les autres ne sont pas ceux qu’on pense.

Un livre de Farid Esack C’est au Pakistan que Farid Esack, jeune Sud-Africain élevé dans un quartier misérable réservé aux gens de couleur, est allé se former en vue de devenir imam. Etudiant en théologie dans les années 70, il s’affilie à un mouvement piétiste et missionnaire musulman appelé le “Tabligh”(1) . Il raconte : “A ce moment-là, j’étais étudia […].

« Seul le Coran oblige ». Mohamed Talbi.

Pour le réformateur tunisien, il n’y a pas de conviction sans interrogation. Et toute forme de critique est possible quand on est musulman de conviction. Historien, ancien recteur de l’université de Tunis, fils du bourguibisme, Mohamed Talbi, musulman pratiquant, est aujourd’hui l’un des penseurs les plus rigoureux et les plus audacieux de la réforme de […].

Expérience et doctrine de l’amour chez Ibn Arabî.

“Par Dieu, j’éprouve de l’amour à un point tel que, me semble-t-il, les cieux se disloqueraient, les étoiles s’affaisseraient, les montagnes s’ébranleraient si je leur en confiais la charge [1] : telle est mon expérience de l’amour…” Par Dieu, j’éprouve de l’amour à un point tel que, me semble-t-il, les cieux se disloqueraient, les étoiles s’affaissera […].

The Contradictions of the Islamic World

Tariq Ramadan, controversial Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg, argues that instead of blaming only the West, Muslims need to start to criticise themselves in order to strengthen their position. For almost a century the Arab world seems immobilised, rooted in its failures as much as in its divisions. No other region in the world […].

Globalisation and the Future of Islamic Civilisation

Let me begin with civilisation. A British philosopher, Bertrand Russel, once said ’civilisation was born out of the pursuit of luxury’. Because luxury was pursued you ended up with great works, music, the Palace of Versailles, the Taj Mahal etc. Then much closer to our times you had civilisation interpreted more in economic terms, and you had Adam Smith vi […].

Islam and liberal democracy

Of all the challenges facing democracy in the 1990s, one of the greatest lies in the Islamic world. Only a handful of the more than four dozen predominantly Muslim countries have made significant strides toward establishing democratic systems. Among this handful—including Albania,Bangladesh, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mali, Pakistan, and Turkey—not […].

Jihad International Inc

The violence of Islamism has emerged as a subject of anxious concern throughout the world, especially the Muslim world. In the United States, the Islamic resistance to Israel’s occupation of Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan and such incidents as the alleged plot to blow up the International Trade Center in New York City, have aided the media and oth […].

Emerging Civil Society in Iran

In recent years the issue of civil society has taken on new salience among students of international affairs. The emergence of civil society as a vehicle for democratization in Eastern Europe and Latin America has led to increasing scholarly attention to the role of non-state actors in promoting political and economic reform In recent years the issue of […].

Letter to a Young Muslim, by Tariq Ali

Dear friend Remember when you approached me after the big antiwar meeting in November 2001 (I think it was Glasgow) and asked whether I was a believer? Dear friend Remember when you approached me after the big antiwar meeting in November 2001 (I think it was Glasgow) and asked whether I was a believer? I have not forgotten the shock you registered when […].

Re-colonizing Iraq

On 15 February 2003, over eight million people marched on the streets of five continents against a war that had not yet begun. This first truly global mobilization—unprecedented in size, scope or scale—sought to head off the occupation of Iraq being plotted in the Pentagon On 15 February 2003, over eight million people marched on the streets of five cont […].

الأصولية.. محاولة للفهم والتفسير

الإسلام ليس مجرد نص جامد معلق في السماء، وحين تتم قراءة إفرازاته إنما تتم مقاربته بوصفه ظاهرة تاريخية منبثقة عن جدل النص مع الواقع من خلال حركة العقل البشري بالرغم من الجدل الذي يقوم حول دلالة مصطلح “الأصولية” ونشأته، وما يستتبع ذلك من أسئلة وإشكالات لعل أبرزها تلك الدراسات التي تحاول حصر “الأصولية” في الإسلام، واعتبارها صفة جوهرية له للقول: إنه بطب […].

Globalized Islam

In 2002, after years of work on political Islam, French scholar Olivier Roy published a major book on “globalized Islam” *. A revised and updated version of this work has now been published in English. According to Roy’s analysis, contemporary Islamic projects are becoming increasingly disconnected from a particular territory, partly as a consequence of […].