Id al-Adha – between myth, faith and social custom – 2
ACCORDINGLY, THEIR SACRIFICES at one time included the sacrifice of their kings, similar to what was adopted by primitive peoples…
Id al-Adha – between myth, faith and social custom – 1
THIS BRINGS TO THE FORE many questions, the most important of which is whether ‘Īd al-Aḍḥā is really a definitive sunna particularly…
“There is no compulsion in religion”
HOWEVER, THEY FORGET that in the most conspicuous of its two elements it is abrogated, and that those who said…
The Hur al-‘Ayn fantasies – 2
A MAJOR CONTROVERSY has erupted in Egypt following the denial by a preacher named Khālid al-Jundī, a member of the…
The Hur al-‘Ayn fantasies – 1
THE ḥūr al-‘ayn theme populates most Islamic sources and references, and here I will just summarise these by focusing on two…
The apologetic mindset – techniques of evasion – 2
AL-BAGHAWI ARGUED that Maryam was saying “If you are a believer, do not oppress me” meaning that your piety should…
The apologetic mindset – techniques of evasion – 1
THIS SLIPPERY REVERENTIAL, justificatory mentality has been obsessed with searching for ways out of embarrassing dilemmas – a process that…
Deconstructing the Islamic narrative
AS THESE HAVE accumulated, the problems have become all the more convoluted and the threads of argument confused, to the point…
The quicksilver, reverential, justificatory mentality – 2
WHAT GOVERNED, and still governs, the quicksilver, reverential, justifying mentality, is the assumption of divine intervention in the course of historical events. The course…
The quicksilver, reverential, justificatory mentality – 1
AS LONG AS ORDINARY Muslims swallowed these uncritically and without applying reason, any contradiction that emerged in the Qur’ān or…