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AR 21:11 - An issue all about ISLAM
* - "a helpful and clear introduction to the depth of geopolitical strife behind the headlines coming out of the Middle East"
* - is it "an offshoot of - or reaction to - Nestorian Christianity?"
* - does "Islamic apologetics lead us down a path of diminishing the role of religion in politics"?
* - does Islam bring with it "a culture that is opposed at almost every juncture to the Christian view of family"?
* - an author who "undermines the common liberal assumption that violence appeals only to the destitute"
* - how "the Islamic State's savagery against Muslims offers hope for taking power politics out of Islam"
Apologia Report 21:11 (1,284)
March 18, 2016
ISLAM
Islamism: What It Means for the Middle East and the World, by Tarek Osman [1] -- "Osman, a political counselor and essayist, reviews the rise, and challenges of Islamism in the Middle East in this informative work, covering Islamism from the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1920s to current elections in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Osman is well-versed in the political dynamics of the Middle East and his prose is deliberate and lucid, though possibly too deliberate for the general reader. The book provides useful context as it strives to be comprehensive, considering perspectives from Turkey, Iran, Gulf countries, secularists, and non-Muslim minorities; this analysis of the interplay among various countries in the region is truly fascinating. Osman's attempt at comprehensiveness, however, leaves the narrative feeling overweight toward North Africa (rather than the countries of the Levant) and at times it reads like a list of quick summaries. His focus on providing context makes his speculations and predictions feel brief, offering only a few unique insights, not explored with greater depth in other sources. Still, readers interested in the Middle East and unfamiliar with the depth of geopolitical strife behind the headlines will find this a helpful and clear introduction." Publishers Weekly, Jan '16 #2.
"Islam is a religion of violence: Or, why abstract theology actually matters" by Joel J. Miller -- from the Ancient Faith blog (Nov 12 '15): "While ISIS and Boko Haram ransack Syria and Nigeria, Foreign Policy is hosting a debate about Islamic violence. Does it go back to the religion's core teachings?
"Yes, says Ayaan Hirsi Ali. No, says Manal Omar. And both make good and valid points. Sure, there's more going on with ISIS than Islamic doctrine as such. But there's also a longstanding tradition of standardization by force in Islam.
"So who's right? There's a lot at play in this debate and no easy answers, but here's a stab at it by way of another question: What if Ali and Omar are both addressing accidents, not true causes? ...
"While some may view the Trinity as an abstract point of theology, it's core to our understanding of God's nature and our obligation as people created in his image. In the Christian view, God has a Son. In the Islamic view, he does not. And this, says Velimirovich, 'perverts man's whole life.' ...
"With this in mind, it's worth remembering that Islam did not come out of nowhere. If certain scholarly conclusions bear out, Islam is an offshoot of - or reaction to - Nestorian Christianity [Miller includes references].
"Could christological squabbles have led Muhammad to insist, 'Jesus, son of Mary, is only a Messenger of God. ... It is better for you to stop believing in the Trinity. There is only One God. He is too glorious to give birth to a son'? It wouldn't be the first time confronting heresy produced more heresy." <www.goo.gl/KNuPRB>
"Does ISIS really have nothing to do with Islam? Islamic apologetics carry serious risks." by Shadi Hamid -- this Washington Post item (Nov 18 '15) has stirred up hundreds of comments.
"The impulse to separate Islam from the sins and crimes of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is understandable, and it often includes statements such as ISIS has 'nothing to do with Islam' or that ISIS is merely 'using Islam' as a pretext. ...
"If you actually look at ISIS's approach to governance, it would be difficult - impossible, really - to conclude that it is just making things up as it goes along and then giving it an Islamic luster only after the fact. ...
"There is a role for Islamic apologetics - if defending Islam rather than analyzing it is your objective. I am a Muslim myself, and it's impossible for me to believe that a just God could ever sanction the behavior of groups like ISIS.
"But if the goal is to understand ISIS, then I, and other analysts who happen to be Muslim, would be better served by cordoning off our personal assumptions and preferences. What Islam should be and what Islam is actually understood to be by Muslims (including extremist Muslims) are very different things. ...
"In addition to being a Muslim, I am an American, as well as a small-l liberal. I have written about how, even if we personally believe liberalism is the best available ideological framework for ordering society, that should not be allowed to distort our understanding of mainstream Islamist movements such as, say, the Muslim Brotherhood and its analogues across the region. ...
"The 'is ISIS Islamic?' debate can seem circular and exhausting. But it's an important one nonetheless. Islamic apologetics lead us down a path of diminishing the role of religion in politics. ...
"The analytical approach I'm proposing comes with its own risks. Underscoring the power of religion in general, and Islam in particular, may provide fodder for bigots who might latch on to our statements and misuse them for their own ends.
"In the end, though, it's not my job to make Islam look good, or to argue that Islam 'is a religion of peace,' when the reality is more complicated. We have to be faithful to our findings and conclusions, even if - or perhaps particularly when - they make us most uncomfortable." <www.goo.gl/SqXkdn>
"Migration and the Islamization of Europe" by William Kilpatrick -- "The reality - a reality that many [Catholic] bishops have not yet come to terms with - is that Islam is a radically different faith with a radically different moral code. A couple of years ago, the Afghan parliament rejected a measure that would have banned child marriage. The measure also would have banned the 'practice of buying or selling women to settle disputes' and would have protected rape victims from criminal charges of fornication or adultery. Opponents of the measure said that it 'violated Islamic principles.'
"Unless the bishops understand 'Islamic principles' better than Afghan legislators, they had better take stock of what sort of culture is being introduced into Europe. It will be difficult enough to repair the damage that has already been done to the family by secular relativists. It would be folly to compound the problems families face by enabling the spread of a culture that is opposed at almost every juncture to the Christian view of family." Crisis, Oct 9 '15, <www.goo.gl/QYUl95>
"Conflicts of Faith: Two books discuss the nature of religious extremism and potential paths to reform" -- a joint review of: Islam and the Future of Tolerance, by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz [2]; and Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence, by Jonathan Sacks, a former chief rabbi of the British Commonwealth [3]. Reviewer Irshad Manji, founder of the Moral Courage Project <moralcourage.com>, notes: "Defending the value of doubt through crude certitude is a sign of our times." She was relieved to find this "honest yet affectionate exchange between the Islamist-turned-liberal-Muslim Maajid Nawaz and the neuroscientist who advocates mindful atheism, Sam Harris. ...
"Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague the public conversation about Islam. ...
"Harris seems distracted by another agenda. He is listening to reply rather than to understand.... Nawaz's story bolsters the point about liberal denial. He became an international recruiter for Islamists while enrolled at the prestigious University of London, from which he took a break. This undermines the common liberal assumption that violence appeals only to the destitute.
"Harris is right that liberals must end their silence about the religious motives behind much Islamist terror. ...
"Sacks confronts 'politicized religious extremism' and diagnoses that cancer crisply: 'The 21st century has left us with a maximum of choice and a minimum of meaning. Religion has returned because it is hard to live without meaning.' ...
"He thinks two matters need tackling. There is 'identity without universality,' or solidarity only with one's group. Then there is 'universality without identity,' the unbearable lightness of humans in a transactional but not transcendent world. ...
"He attempts this balance through an ingenious rereading of Genesis. Sacks' proposition: Genesis contains two covenants rather than one. The first focuses on justice, which is impartial and thus universal in application. The second covenant emphasizes love, which is exquisitely particular and personal. In a showdown, justice overrides love. ...
"The Islamic State's savagery against Muslims offers hope for taking power politics out of Islam, eventually achieving the mosque-state separation that Nawaz views as central to reform. ...
"Meanwhile, back at liberal democracy's ranch, we must 'insist on the simplest moral principle of all. ... If you seek respect, you must give respect.' This does not mean always having to agree, but it does mean viewing one another as worthy of candid, constructive engagement. On that front, Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz are role models." New York Times Book Review, Nov 8 '15, p43. <www.goo.gl/4Kz3N0>
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Islamism: What It Means for the Middle East and the World, by Tarek Osman (Yale Univ Prs, 2016, hardcover, 328 pages) <www.goo.gl/zdydQr>
2 - Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue, by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz (Harvard Univ Prs, 2015, hardcover, 144 pages) <www.goo.gl/mQby01>
3 - Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence, by Jonathan Sacks (Schocken, 2015, hardcover, 320 pages) <www.goo.gl/i3c5DU>
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