Search Results (4)

Renewal and Reform have been the most discussed and dominant themes of Muslim intelligentsia, as they lived through the subjection of the greater part of the Muslim world by the Western colonial powers during the 18th and 19th centuries. The intellectual discourse on reform by the early Muslim reformers pivoted to the adoption of Western science and values and to the struggle of developing a new ilm al kalām (theology) complementary to modern science and western ideologies. The subsequent reformers, however, were more critical of Western ideas of civilization. Fazlur Rahman and Mohammed Arkoun belonged to the later wave of Muslim reformist movement of the 20th century and are the most well-known trail blazers of this reformist discourse, which centered on the Qur’ān. This article provides insight into the reform strategies of Dr. Fazlur Rahman and Mohammed Arkoun by mapping out key concepts in their discourses and their influence on later generations of reformers. Fazlur Rahman identified the stagnant intellectual legacy as the sole cause of the downfall of Muslim Civilization, caused by the absence of Ijtihād (independent legal reasoning). In his opinion, blind imitation based on precedence and consensus has only created a new hierarchy of traditional ulama (religious scholar) whose retrogressive mindset monopolized the interpretation of the Qur’ān. Making the Qur’ān as the center point for reform, he advocated its rereading based on the comprehension of the élan (spirit) of the Qur’ān. Similarly, Mohammed Arkoun, being trained in postmodern literary theory, adopted post structural methods for re-reading the Qur’ānic text. Arkoun’s critique and approach is interwoven with complex terminologies. He advocated desacralizing the text and the radical rethinking of Islam as a cultural and religious system. This appraisal promotes a philosophical perspective in combination with an anthropological and historical approach. Both these reformers have their own set of advocates and detractors. Undeniably, however, as this paper argues, Arkoun’s approach of understanding the Qur’ān can disturb the conventional prevalent belief system. Full article

The study of the Quran is central to Religious Islamic Education (RIE). Exposed to different political and social pressures, teachers in RIE still struggle between traditional approaches concerning the divine nature of the Qur’an and more secular approaches emphasizing the historicity and critical analysis of the religious text. Mohammed Arkoun (d. 2010), an Algerian-born Sorbonne professor, offered a hermeneutical methodology for reading the Quran that was Western, scientific, and critical, and at the same time related to the Living Islamic Tradition, faith, and thought. The article analyzes Arkoun’s methodology for reading the Quran and its possible implications on RIE in a way that creates a space for creativity, criticism, and dialogue between worldviews and opens new possibilities for the faithful to teach and learn the Qur’an. Full article

The advent of the 1990s marked, among other things, the restructuring of the Muslim world in its relation to Islam. This new context has proved to be extremely favorable to the emergence of scholars who define themselves as reformists or modernists. They have dedicated themselves to reform in Islam based on the values of peace, human rights, and secular governance. One can find an example of this approach in the works of renowned intellectuals such as Farid Esack, Mohamed Talbi, or Mohamed Arkoun, to name a few. However, the question of Islamic reform has been debated during the 19th and 20th centuries. This article aims to comprehend the historical evolution of contemporary reformist thinkers in the scientific field. The literature surrounding these intellectuals is based primarily on content analysis. These approaches share a type of reading that focuses on the interaction and codetermination of religious interpretations rather than on the relationships and social dynamics that constitute them. Despite these contributions, it seems vital to question this contemporary thinking differently: what influence does the context of post-Islamism have on the emergence of this intellectual trend? What connections does it have with the social sciences and humanities? How did it evolve historically? In this context, the researchers will analyze co-citations in representative samples to illustrate the theoretical framework in which these intellectuals are located, and its evolution. Using selected cases, this process will help us to both underline the empowerment of contemporary Islamic thought and the formation of a real corpus of works seeking to reform Islam. Full article

The aim of this paper is to reveal how misconceptions—or using the concept of Arkoun, “the crisis of meanings”—about the role and position of Islam in Europe is impacting on the discourse on sport, Islam, and immigration. France is selected as a case study for this paper as it is in this country where the debate on religion in general and Islam in particular seem to be more contentious in relation to the questions of integration of Muslim communities to secular (French republican) values. Recent sources of tensions include the ban of the Burqa in the public space; the debate on national identity instigated by the former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, which became centred around the question of Islam and Muslims in France; the provocative cartoons about Prophet Mohamed in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo; opposition against the provision of halal meal in France’s fast-food chain Quick; and resistance toward Qatar’s plan to invest in deprived suburbs of France, to name just a few. The other context which this paper examines in relation to the question of sport, Islam, and identity-making of Muslims in Europe is the phenomenon of “reverse migration” or the re-connection of athletes of Muslim background in Europe, or so-called Muslim neo-Europeans, with their (parents’) country of origin. The paper argues that sport is another highly politicised space to judge the level of “integration” of Muslim athletes in European societies, and the degree of “religiosity” in their (parents’) country of origin. Full article