“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…
Politics and religion in the Orthodox Caliphate – 2
THIS WAS BECAUSE Imām Ali was aware that “the Qur’ān does not speak, but rather it is men who speak…
Politics and religion in the Orthodox Caliphate – 1
AS THIS CONFUSION began to take root, the Rightly-Guided Caliphate descended into non-stop strife – wars with those who opposed zakāh,…
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…
The early history of Islam and the scarcity of material artefacts – 2
KEEP IN MIND that this literature included the art of public speaking and sermons and dealt with social and moral…