Why this is the real issue for the future. More than terrorism

This article was published in Oasis 26. Read the table of contents

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LEADER

 

A Quest Throughout Islamic History, Oasis

 

FOCUS

 

Jesus in the Qur’an and the Third Way between Extremism and Secularism, Mustafa Akyol

A great prophet in Islam, Jesus preached reform of the religious law in a non-literalist sense that can become a source of inspiration for today's Muslims.

 

God’s Rights vs Human Rights: Islam under Strain, Omero Marongiu-Perria

The medieval ulama thought of religious freedom within a hegemonic paradigm. Nowadays, they often seek to re-propose this paradigm in the positive law of Muslim states.

 

Muslims and Free Will, Maria De Cillis

The nature of human actions has always been at the centre of Islamic theological reflection. Indeed, the Qur'an appears to support both God's omnipotence and human responsibility simultaneously.

 

Intellectual Freedom and the Study of the Qur’an, Emran El-Badawi

For centuries, clerics have considered historical study of the sacred Text to be a form of heresy of Western derivation: that has not prevented the development of critical thought.

 

The Paradox of Islamist Democracy, Michele Brignone

The Arab uprisings of 2011 brought Islamist groups to power in various Muslim countries, making the debate on the relationship between Islam and political freedom and the differences between Islamic political systems and liberal democracies both topical and concrete.

 

Tunisia: between Freedom of Conscience and Defence of the Sacred, Mohamed-Chérif Ferjani

The Tunisian Constitution reflects the power relations presiding at its drafting: it guarantees the secularists freedom of conscience and accords the Islamists protection of both religion and the sacred.

 

The Eastern Christians’ Role in the Creation of a New Social Space, Salim Daccache

Al-Azhar's declaration opens the door to a new concept of citizenship that unites Christians and Muslims. A beginning, but not yet a turning point.

 

Islamic Monotheism and the Struggle of Opposites, Muhammad Jābir al-Ansārī 

An essential feature of Arab-Islamic civilization is its straining towards the unification of created reality and the divine. In a world that tends towards contradiction, this ideal translates into a quest for the concordance of opposites that modernity has thrown into crisis.

 

CLASSICS

 

When Islam Discusses Freedom, Martino Diez

 

The Caliph and the Ascetic, Hasan al-Basrī

Hasan al-Basrī, a spiritual master from the first century of Islam, warns the Umayyad sovereign 'Abd al-Malik to keep to the verse of the Qur'an that describe human beings as responsible for their own deeds.

 

God’s Foreknowledge Does Not Constrain Human Action, Theodore Abū Qurrah

Using the same methods as his Islamic contemporaries, the bishop of Harran seeks to convince an imaginary champion of predestination that it is human beings who determine their own actions.

 

Despotism, or the Corruption of the Prophet’s Ideals, ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Kawākibī 

A political refugee living in Egypt, the Syrian intellectual al-Kawākibī launched a vehement appeal against tyranny. The implied target was the Ottoman sultan, Abdul Hamid II. An islamic reformist manifesto that continues to inspire contemporary Arab thinking.

 

 

REPORTAGE

 

Tunisia: “We Want to Be Free, But Don’t Call Us an Exception”, Rolla Scolari

The Tunisian President wants to cut family law free from sharia and dispel the taboo regarding gender inequality in inheritance: one of the last taboos in the Arab-Muslim world.

 

 

REVIEWS

 

“Neither Liberal nor Fundamentalist”, Michele Brignone 

Where the Islamists' theory of political freedom comes from.

 

The Crisis of the Sunni Compromise, Martino Diez

The dangerous promise of an Islam recreated from scratch.

 

The Springs of Nonviolence, Andrea Pin

Why the peaceful nature of the 2011 Arab uprisings was revolutionary.

 

Between ISIS and the Aga Khan: Islam’s Political Theology, Chiara Pellegrino

In Muslim history, religious doctrines and political ideologies overlap.

 

Women Looking for Trouble (and Freedom), Emma Neri

Female Arab directors tell of ideological and religious battles peeping out from personal stories and hidden tensions.

 

 

COLOPHON

Year 13 No. 26 December 2017

 

Editor-in-chief Rolla Scolari

Scientific Editor Martino Diez

Managing Editor Michele Brignone

Editorial staff Chiara Pellegrino

Editorial Consultants Rifaat Bader Marco Bardazzi Bernardo Cervellera Camille Eid Rafic Greiche Claudio Lurati

Graphic Design and Layout Massimiliano Frangi

English translation Paola Bernardini Catharine de Rienzo

 

Subscribe here www.oasiscenter.eu/en/subscriptions

 

By Marsilio Editori spa in Venice

First edition: December 2017

 

This edition of Oasis was realized with the support of Fondazione Cariplo

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