Islamic philosophy
All topics-
Remembering Naguib Mahfouz
″A wave of light on an infinite ocean of darkness″
30 August 2016 marks the tenth anniversary of Naguib Mahfouz′ death. Widely regarded as the father of the Arab novel, the Egyptian author won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988: ″through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous″. A volume of his early non-fiction work has recently been published. Marcia Lynx Qualey gives her impressions
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Salafism or philology
What can an Islamic scholar tell us?
The Islamic scholar Angelika Neuwirth has had a greater impact on Koranic research in Germany than anyone else in recent decades. What she has to say is revolutionary – not only for Muslims, but also for Europe. Salafists, in particular, could learn a great deal from her. By Navid Kermani
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The filming of Rumi
Everybody's darling
A Hollywood film project and a joint attempt by Iran and Turkey to register the principal works of the poet Rumi with the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list have recently caused political turmoil, above all, in Afghanistan. By Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
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Interview with Mevlevi sheikh Kabir Helminski
Sufism and the power to transform
The U.S. American and Mevlevi sheikh Kabir Helminski is founder of the international ″Threshold Society″ and one of the most important Sufi teachers in the West. Marian Brehmer talked to him about the role of Sufism in the modern world and the dangers of religious extremism
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The Reform Islam debate
Islam doesn′t need a Martin Luther!
Calls for an Islamic Reformation are issued in the wake of every Islamist act of terrorism. But Muslims don't need a Martin Luther. What is needed is a reconciliation of Islam with the constitutional state, says Loay Mudhoon
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Combatting violent extremism
Could Sufi Islam be the cure-all?
The world is in urgent need of a ″soft″ strategy when it comes to fighting radical Islamist ideology. Enter Sufi Islam which, argues Pakistan academic Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi, can help us brave the challenges of curbing fanaticism, fundamentalism and violent extremism
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Interview with the Islam scholar Ahmad Milad Karimi
Accessing the Koran
Ahmad Milad Karimi is one of Germany′s most dynamic philosophers of religion. Having come to the country as a refugee when he was a child, he is now helping to establish an Islamic philosophy of religion and has produced a new translation of the Koran. His main concern is to break down the foreignness of Islam
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Reforming Islam
Islam′s path to modernity
The clash between secular human-rights standards and Muslim religious doctrine mirrors the broader conflict between Islam and the West. An emerging school of Muslim thought is, however, demonstrating just how compatible Islam can be with modern society. An essay by Mohammad Fazlhashemi, professor of Islamic theology at Uppsala University in Sweden
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Spain and Ibn Arabi′s heritage
The great master of Murcia
Ibn Arabi was born 850 years ago in Murcia. The influence of this mystic on Islamic spirituality was second to none. Nevertheless, few in modern-day Spain have even heard of him. An account by Marian Brehmer
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Portrait of the Syrian intellectual Sadiq al-Azm
Critical philosopher and political activist
Though Damascene born and bred, al-Azm is a true cosmopolitan - with no nostalgia for his mother′s baking, no tears shed over the good old days, and no longing for the fresh scent of jasmine so reminiscent of Damascus. He has always preferred personal freedom with all its associated risks to the comfort of a familiar environment. By Yassin al-Haj Saleh
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Eco-Islam: Noor al-Hussein speaks out
Islam, faith and climate change
The Islamic Declaration on Climate Change, endorsed in August by Islamic scholars from around the world, calls on countries to phase out greenhouse gas emissions and switch to 100% renewable energy. With 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, the collective statement sends a strong signal ahead of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit later this month, and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December. By Noor al-Hussein, Queen of Jordan
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Strategies for combating fundamentalist ideologies
Reviving Islam's enlightenment
In 1877, the great French novelist Victor Hugo wrote, "Invading armies can be resisted; invading ideas cannot be." Nowadays, the power of ideas, for good or for evil, is something we need to take into account, particularly in contemplating Islamic radicalism. By Daniel Chirot and Scott L. Montgomery