Intellectual distortion and societal suicide
ONE ANCIENT CHINESE custom that arose in the tenth century towards the end of the Tang Dynasty was the binding…
Textual Islam and the slavery dilemma
IN AN ARTICLE on this subject some while ago I said that slavery was a practice that was prevalent throughout…
A stiff-necked God!
IN ARABIC CULTURE there is a commonly used phrase: “Even the whole Earth cannot change my word,”[1] which Arab men…
Contemporary Islam and the challenges of modernity
MUSLIMS POINT to the damage caused by delay in the updating of religious thought in four broad areas: 1 –…
The Arabs and Islam – 3
THAT THERE IS a dual personality of ‘Arab’ and ‘Islamic’, a swinging back and forth between the past and the…
Diagnosing the Arab Muslim Mentality as a Precursor to Reform
ATTEMPTS TO DIAGNOSE the factors contributing to paralysis and obstacles to Arab reform date back more than two centuries. They…
Why I do not want an Islamic state or an Islamic law
I AM WELL AWARE that simply the above title is enough for the inquisition courts to unsheathe their swords, and…
Arkoun and the defeat of reason in Islam – 1
‘Fundamentalism’ did not originally have the negative connotation it has today. Now, however, it has come to mean merely the…
Intellectual self-isolation and the prospects of constructing a culture – 2
THE FIRST HALF of the 20th century was spent in attempts to imitate Western modernity on a number of levels.…
Psychological reflections on the phenomenon of Salafism
IN THE SAME CONTEXT, and subsequent to the salaf – as represented by the Companions, the Tābiʽūn,[1] the great Imams…