06AR11-44
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Apologia Report 11:44
December 29, 2006
Subject: The "radical apocalyptic school" of Muslim thought
In this issue:
BIBLICAL CRITICISM - a "sympathetic and fair" history of modern biblical interpretation from a non-conservative source
ISLAM - the eerie parallels between Muslim and Christian fringe end-time literature
+ an Islamic scholar weighs in on salvation and suicide
PSYCHOLOGY - drawing the line between mad, neurotic, and sane religious belief favors the uneasy middle road
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BIBLICAL CRITICISM
What Have They Done to the Bible? A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation, by John Sandys-Wunsch [2] -- reviewer Laura D. Alary acknowledges that much modern biblical scholarship has attempted to dethrone the authority of Scripture. She explains that the "aim" of Sandys-Wunsch "is to describe how this change [from crowning to dethroning] happened."
Sandys-Wunsch "begins with a brief but helpful discussion of the conventional distinction between pre-critical and critical biblical scholarship, a distinction which [he] dismisses as false and misleading. Both Christian and Jewish interpreters, he argues, identified and struggled with critical problems in the biblical text long before the Enlightenment and often came up with creative and sophisticated solutions. Yet, he admits, something did happen that opened up the possibility of new solutions to old problems. ...
"The broad scope of the book is both an asset and a liability. Frequent generalizations, though inevitable in a study of this sort, prove frustrating at times, and historical movements and their causes are summarized in ways that would make specialists cringe. ... On the other hand, being able to see that the development of biblical studies is not an isolated phenomenon but is part of a larger context or framework is very helpful. In his treatment of the wide range of scholars he discusses, Sandys-Wunsch is sympathetic and fair. His deliberate effort to discuss both Roman Catholic and Protestant exegetes - many of whom have often been overlooked in the history of biblical exegesis - is laudable. With this clear and often very witty style, he succeeds admirably at making the subject matter accessible to non-specialists." Toronto Journal of Theology, 22:1 - 2006, pp82-83.
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ISLAM
Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature, by David Cook [2] -- unfortunately, reviewer Richard T. Antoun gives little attention to the book's structure or the influence and perspective of its author. Nevertheless, Antoun provides a valuable summary of the bizarre topic. Readers of AR will note the eerie parallels here to fringe end-time Christian literature which we also cover.
"The belief that the world will end at some time has been generally held by Muslims, although the Quran specifically states that the knowledge of that time is known only to God.... The radical apocalyptic school of thought that is the subject of this book holds that the international conspiracy against Islam can only be met by uniting Muslims in one state under the Mahdi [explained below] who will fight the enemy and kill them.... The apocalyptic school of Muslim writers relies in an extraordinary way on the Christian and Hebrew scriptures (particularly Revelation and the book of Daniel) and their exegesis for their accounts of the end of time because the Quran is by and large a non-apocalyptic book.
"The international conspiracy against Muslims is led by Jews and 'hidden Jews,' e.g., all recent American presidents (except Jimmy Carter), Arab Muslim leaders such as the deceased King Husayn [sic] of Jordan and Christians such as Michel Aflaq, the founder of the Bath Party as well as the Catholic Church and its popes. Muslim apocalyptic writers argue that the international conspiracy has unlimited amounts of money, unassailable positions of power, and Satanic authority in the form of the Anti-Christ. These writers have taken the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a gnostic text revealing knowledge few can comprehend, seeing the world as totally dominated by Jews, Judaism as betrayal of Moses' message, and the final stage of the international conspiracy as the attempt of the United States/United Nations to take away all weapons of mass destruction from every state other than the United States.
"Particular attention is given to the Mahdi, not a prophet or a messenger, but a messianic personality. The epitome of what the true Muslim ruler should be, the Mahdi is the person who will set things right and restore justice in the midst of injustice. He will not be involved in political causes or sectarian creeds, and people will not know him (nor he, himself) until the last minute when he will be chosen of God and God's people. Before his revelation, Jesus will come down from Heaven and defeat the Anti-Christ. His main enemies will be 'those Muslims who resist his rise to power for their own selfish ends.' The Mahdi will purify Jerusalem from its Jewish vintage." Journal of Church and State, 48:3 - 2006, pp687-688.
"Salvation and Suicide: What Does Islamic Theology Say?" by Munawar A. Anees [1] -- from the abstract: "The Islamic soteriological doctrine advocates good deeds and God's mercy as the pre-requisites for human salvation. This article introduces these two important dimensions of the Muslim belief of salvation. In contemporary settings it addresses some of the motives behind the spate of suicide bombings by Muslims and argues that taking one's own life is totally forbidden in Islam. The moving notion that suicide bombing is an open door to salvation is, therefore, untenable. Whatever the mitigating factors, there is no legitimacy in Islamic Law (shariah) to the crime of suicide or the derived terrorism."
In his conclusion, Anees adds: "It must be made clear ... that whatever the pretense, these acts are in dire violation of the teachings of Islam. There is no Quranic support for taking one's own life to kill and maim innocent children and women - even when in a state of war...." Dialog, 45:3 - 2006, pp275-279.
For an article discussing Muslim cleric's views in support of suicide bombers, see: <http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR3204>
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PSYCHOLOGY
"Religion and Madness" by David Berman <dberman@tcd.ie>, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin -- asks: "How should we distinguish mad from sane religious belief?" Berman's abstract tells us that he looks at "the clear-cut but opposed answers of Freud and Jung" as well as "the modern psychiatric answer" and finds them all "unsatisfactory." He then considers the "approach of Con Drury, Wittgenstein's friend and biographer, in an essay called 'Madness and Religion,' where, drawing on the religious histories of Joan of Arc, George Fox and Tolstoy and three of his own psychiatric patients, Drury suggests that there is no objective yet ethical way to make the distinction. This leads to my own answer, which is that the best we can do is to distinguish mad from neurotic religious belief; and hence that the safest position, although not the most comfortable, is the neurotic one." Journal of Religion and Heath, 45:3 - 2006, pp359-370.
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Sources, Digital:
1 - http://www.wie.org/bios/munawar-anees.asp
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Sources, Monographs:
2 - What Have They Done to the Bible? A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation, by John Sandys-Wunsch (Liturgical Prs, 2005, paperback, 378 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0814650287/apologiareport>
3 - Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature, by David Cook (Syracuse Univ Prs, 2005, hardcover, 272 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815630581/apologiareport>
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