New Directions in Islamic Thought Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition

by Vogt, Kari; Larsen, Lena; Moe, Christian

• ISBN13: 9781845117399
• ISBN10: 1845117395
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

How are Muslims to reconcile their beliefs with the pressures and imperatives of the modern world? How should they handle the tension between their roles as private citizens and their religious affiliations and identities? This groundbreaking volume shows in what ways prominent Muslim intellectuals have themselves attempted to bridge the gap by recasting traditional Islamic notions in the light of contemporary understandings of equality, justice and pluralism. The contributors to the book examine the tradition that they seek to reform in relation to the human rights ethic of the modern world. The new wave of Islamic thinking which they represent emerges as multi-stranded rather than defined by a single trend or doctrine. Themes covered include a deconstruction of patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an; the distinctions between universal and context-specific parts of Islamic texts; a re-contextualisation of Shari'a law; and a critique of religious jurisprudence, particularly where this impacts on matters of sex and gender. Old texts are re-interpreted through the lived situations of real people today. The result is an indispensable portrayal of progressive Islamic thought in the twenty-first century, which will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of religion, ethics and Middle East studies.

Author Biography

Kari Vogt is Associate Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Oslo. She is the author of Between Desert and City, and co-editor of the collection Islamic Law Reform and Human Rights. Lena Larsen is Co-ordinator of the Oslo Coalition and a former Chair of the Islamic Council in Norway. Christian Moe is a research assistant working towards a PhD in human rights in Bosnia. He was co-editor of the collection Religious Pluralism in Education: Comparative Perspectives in the Western Balkans.

Table of Contents

Credits	p. vii
A note on transliteration	p. viii
Introduction	p. 1
The Changeable and the Unchangeable	p. 7
The changeable and the unchangeable	p. 9
"Hold(ing) fast by the best in the precepts" - The Qur'an and method	p. 17
Law and ethics in Islam - The role of the maqasid	p. 23
Human rights and intellectual Islam	p. 47
The Challenge of Equality	p. 75
Classical fiqh, contemporary ethics and gender justice	p. 77
Timeless texts and modern morals - Challenges in Islamic sexual ethics	p. 89
Gender equality and Islamic law - The case of Morocco	p. 101
Historical and political dynamics of the "women and Islam" issue - The Turkish case	p. 113
Authority and Islamic Normativity	p. 127
Islamic authority	p. 129
A theory of Islam, state and society	p. 145
A call for a moratorium on corporal punishment - The debate in review	p. 163
Negotiating gender rights under religious law in Malaysia	p. 175
The changing concepts of caliphate - Social construction of Shari'a and the question of ethics	p. 187
Dialogue on New Directions	p. 207
Can the State enforce Shari'a? - A discussion in Yogyakarta	p. 209
Contributors	p. 221
Notes	p. 227
Index	p. 257
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