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 […].
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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, […].
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 […].
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 […].