The media have become obsessed with something called “Islam,” which in their voguish lexicon has acquired only two meanings, both of them unacceptable and impoverishing. The media have become obsessed with something called “Islam,” which in their voguish lexicon has acquired only two meanings, both of them unacceptable and impoverishing. On the one hand, […].
Themes 1046
Reason and revelation.
“Reason defines truth, justice, public interest, and humanity”. From chapter entitled “The Idea of Democratic Religious Government” in Reason, Freedom and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush (Oxford University Press, 2000), edited by Mahmoud Sadri and Ahmad Sadri. Also see editors’ introduction. Modern science explains the world […].
Islamic Democracy and Islamic Governance.
A summary of remarks by Abdolkarim Soroush and Charles Butterworth at The Middle East Institute, November 21, 2000 On November 21, MEI gathered two scholars, the Iranian thinker Abdolkarim Soroush, visiting professor at Harvard University, and Charles Butterworth, Professor of Political Science at the University of Maryland, for a discussion on “Islamic […].
Types of Religiosity.
When we come to experiential religiosity, we step from the domain of separation into the domain of union. The previous types of religiosity can be described as religiosities of distance, for the first was physical and practical and the second mental and reflective. The first was based on instrumental rationality and the second on theoretical rationality.
Europe versus America.
Although I have visited England dozens of times, I have never spent more than one or two weeks at a single stretch. This year, for the first time, I am in residence for almost two months at Cambridge University, where I am the guest of a college and giving a series of lectures on humanism at the university. Although I have visited England dozens of times […].
Text in Context. Abdolkarim Soroush.
The science of nature is a human endeavor to understand the nature, and the science of religion is a human endeavor to understand religion. All understanding assumes suppositions and entails “categorization,” that is subsuming the particular under universal categories and concepts. Understanding religion is no exception. It is preceded by certain assumpti […].
The Clash of Ignorance.
Samuel Huntington’s article “The Clash of Civilizations?” appeared in the Summer 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs, where it immediately attracted a surprising amount of attention and reaction. Samuel Huntington’s article “The Clash of Civilizations?” appeared in the Summer 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs, where it immediately attracted a surprising amount of […].
A window on the world.
Western scholars helped justify the war in Iraq, says Edward Said, with their orientalist ideas about the ’Arab mind’. Twenty-five years after the publication of his post-colonial classic, the author of Orientalism argues that humanist understanding is now more urgently required than ever before. Nine years ago I wrote an afterword for Orientalism which, […].
Intellectually Victorious, but Politically Defeated
A wave of hope carried the reformist Mohammed Khatami into the office of president. But since then resignation has spread among the Iranian people as well as among critical religious leaders. An inside report from Ghom by Navid Kermani Mohammed Mojtahed Shabestari is careful when he speaks or writes: although he knows precisely what the political implica […].
Beyond the ‘clash of civilizations’ shaping reform in Muslim societies
The “clash of civilizations” supposedly under way between the West and the Muslim world, which many see as manifested in Iraq, as well as in Saudi Arabia’s growing violence, in fact masks other conflicts – disputes that will probably prove to be far more significant in the long term. One of these struggles is taking place among Muslims themselves over the […].
The Responsibilities of the Muslim Intellectual in the 21st Century
By Farish A. Noor 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 advo […].
For an Open Interpretation of the Koran
The reformist thinker and philosopher Abdolkarim Sorush is one of a new generation of theologians that openly speaks out in favour of human rights and secularism in Iran. Katajun Amirpur about an awkward Iranian intellectual. Most people consider the Islamic Republic of Iran to be a fundamentalist theocracy that fosters a radical interpretation of Islam. […].
Adapting to Contemporary Islam
Is Islamic law compatible with democracy and human rights? One of Iran’s best-known reformist clerics has an answer to this question – an answer that challenges Islamic orthodoxy. Journalist Bahman Nirumand reports on a progressive and uncomfortable reformist theologian. Born in 1959, Mohsen Kadivar originally wanted to be an electronic engineer. However […].
Dying empty !
Posté le : Mer Mai 26, 2004. Forum Taht Essour Early last year I began to suffer from a severe stomach-ache ,few months later I was diagnosed for cancer. Confronted with my own mortality ,I began to lament myself for all the things I had not accomplished yet with my life. Yes, it’s true, I had traveled very much, met a lot of fantastic peoples, slept w […].
Unity Through Opposition: Islam as an Instrument of Radical Political Change
By Thomas Butko In wake of the September 11 attacks, there has been a heightened focus on political Islam (or Islamism) as a global area of research. Yet, in spite of the view that political Islam is essentially internationally oriented in its outlook, the primary focus of Islamist groups is actually at the domestic level, as Islam is utilized as a polit […].
Counter Summit (suite)
Nawaat invite tous ceux qui seront intéressés par le prochain Sommet Mondial de la Société d’Information (SMSI) à rejoindre la liste http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/tunis pour partager l’information, débattre et préparer l’organisation d’Un Contre Sommet qui a fait l’objet d’un Appel (Lire ici) mis en ligne sur notre site. Afin de continuer ce débat nous […].
Counter Summit
Some people within indymedia have started organizing for the World Summit on Information Society 2005, which will take place in Tunis. Below you find the first call. For more information check http://plentyfact.net/05fs/index.php/Wisis2005/StartPage http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/WSISII If you want to help us, sign up to : tunis at lists.riseup. […].
The forgotten dictatorship: Tunisia
The re-election on October 24 of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, with the Ceausescu-like score of 94.49%, was scarcely noticed in the Stateside news media. Even the New York Times only posted a brief dispatch from AP on its website. The re-election on October 24 of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, with the Ceausescu-like score of 9 […].
