A Contemporary Muslim Scholar’s Approach to Revelation: Moḥammad Moǧtahed Šabestarī’s Reform Project

Arabica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 656-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Reform Project ◽  
Present Context ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Traditional Understanding ◽  
Muslim Scholars ◽  
The Way

Over the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, rethinking the traditional understanding of revelation has been welcomed by a number of Muslim scholars. Moḥammad Moǧtahed Šabestarī, an influential Šīʿī reformer from contemporary Iran, certainly falls in the category of such scholars. The aim of this paper is to discuss his theory of revelation for the purpose of exploring the potential values it holds for flexible interpretation of Islam in the present context. The paper argues that Šabestarī’s method of interpretation of the Qurʾān has its roots in his account of revelation. In order to show in practice how Šabestarī’s understanding of the nature of revelation influences the way he approaches the Qurʾān, the paper focuses on three main themes that consistently appear throughout his writings, namely Qurʾānic socio-political provisions, religious pluralism and the relation between state and religion. The paper, in general, provides an insight of how rethinking the classical methods, ideas and approaches can take place within Islamic tradition in the modern period.À la fin du xxe et début du xxie siècles, le fait de repenser la compréhension traditionnelle de la Révélation fut bien accueilli par un certain nombre de savants musulmans. Moḥammad Moǧtahed Šabestarī, un influent réformateur chiite de l’Iran contemporain, appartient sans nul doute à cette catégorie de savants. Le propos de cet article est d’analyser sa théorie sur la Révélation dans le but d’explorer ses valeurs potentielles pour une interprétation souple de l’islam en fonction du contexte contemporain. L’article démontre que la méthode d’interprétation du Coran de Šabestarī trouve ses racines dans son récit de la Révélation. Afin de montrer concrètement comment la compréhension qu’avait Šabestanī de la nature de la Révélation influence la façon dont il aborde le Coran, l’article se concentre sur trois thèmes principaux qui apparaissent systématiquement dans ses écrits, à savoir les dispositions socio-politiques du Coran, le pluralisme religieux et la relation entre l’État et la religion. D’une manière générale, l’article donne un aperçu de la façon dont le fait de repenser les méthodes, idées et approches classiques peut avoir sa place dans la tradition islamique à l’époque contemporaine. This article is in English.

Historical and Ideological Lineages of Dissenting Protestantism in Latin America

2019 ◽  
pp. 315-337
Author(s):  
Stephen Dove
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Small Footprint ◽  
Religious Landscape

Latin America is a region where traditional dissenting institutions and denominations have a relatively small footprint, and yet the ideas of dissenting Protestantism play an important, and expanding, role on the religious landscape. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, Latin America has transitioned from a region with a de jure Catholic monopoly to one marked by religious pluralism and the disestablishment of religion. In the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries, this transition has been especially marked by the rapid growth of Pentecostalism. This chapter analyses the role of dissenting Protestantism during these two centuries of transition and demonstrates how ideas and missionaries from historical dissenting churches combined with local influences to create a unique version of dissent among Latin American Protestants and Pentecostals.

scholarly journals Nittsū’s Company History as a Guide to the Early Modern Origins of Japan’s Modern Communications

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Great Success ◽  
History Plays ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Postal Services ◽  
Late Twentieth

Historians of the future will no doubt focus on the transformative role of Internet-based communications as they have changed human interaction in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.  The introduction of modern postal services in Japan and elsewhere in the nineteenth century produced effects no less profound: citizens were connected to each other and their governments by reliable and relatively speedy delivery of letters, newspapers, and parcels.  Japan’s postal system was a great success, but the communications practices of the Japanese prior to the establishment of the post played an important role in that success.  Courier services—the so-called hikyakuya—of the early modern period survived and ultimately became today’s Nippon Tsūun (Nittsū), and global logistical corporation.  This article surveys the development of early modern Japanese communications, demonstrating the indispensible role that Nittsū’s company history plays in understanding that development.

Religious Terrorism at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Juergensmeyer
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Religious Ritual ◽  
Global Problem ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Extreme Violence ◽  
Religious Terrorism ◽  
The Way

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, extreme violence associated with religion has become a global problem, appearing in Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures. Religion is associated with this violence but is not the cause of it. In other words, religion is not the problem, but it is problematic, in two ways. One is the way that religious identities and ideologies have become part of a global rebellion against the European Enlightenment notion of a secular state. The other is the way that certain features of religious actions and images—such as the performance of religious ritual and the awesome notion of cosmic war—are appropriated by violent actors seeking to justify their savage attempts at power and cloak them in religious garb.

Afterword

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Eike Spalding
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Appalachian Region ◽  
Eastern Kentucky ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Northeast Tennessee ◽  
Local Tradition ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The Way

This book has explored what has given life and meaning to old time dancing in six communities in Eastern Kentucky, Northeast Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Through interviews, it has identified a variety of circumstances responsible for the appearance of dancing in these dance communities, and the ways that residents of each community experienced and responded to industrialization and other societal changes. It has also examined how decisions made by individuals and groups shaped dancing and how decision making was affected by factors such as culture and cultural exchange. Finally, it has discussed the decline and revival of old time dancing in the six communities as well as change and continuity as evidence of the power of local tradition in the Appalachian region. The book concludes with an afterword, which expresses the hope that all six stories will stimulate thinking and exploration and pave the way for future projects on American dance traditions.

Narrative, Intertext and Allusion in the Qur'anic Presentation of Job

1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Johns
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Complex Network ◽  
Key Words And Phrases ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Western Tradition ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Job (Ayyūb) is a byword for patience in the Islamic tradition, notwithstanding only six Qur'anic verses are devoted to him, four in Ṣād (vv.41-4), and two in al-Anbiyā' (vv.83-4), and he is mentioned on only two other occasions, in al-Ancām (v.84) and al-Nisā' (v.163). In relation to the space devoted to him, he could be accounted a ‘lesser’ prophet, nevertheless his significance in the Qur'an is unambiguous. The impact he makes is achieved in a number of ways. One is through the elaborate intertext transmitted from the Companions and Followers, and recorded in the exegetic tradition. Another is the way in which his role and charisma are highlighted by the prophets in whose company he is presented, and the shifting emphases of each of the sūras in which he appears. Yet another is the wider context created by these sūras in which key words and phrases actualize a complex network of echoes and resonances that elicit internal and transsūra associations focusing attention on him from various perspectives. The effectiveness of this presentation of him derives from the linguistic genius of the Qur'an which by this means triggers a vivid encounter with aspects of the rhythm of divine revelation no less direct than that of visual iconography in the Western Tradition.

Konsep Ihsân dalam Wacana Pendidikan Islam

TAJDID ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Husni Husni
Keyword(s):  
Existence Of God ◽  
Good Deed ◽  
The Law ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Islamic Society ◽  
Muslim Scholars ◽  
The Way

This article studies the concept of Ihsan (good deed) in the thought of ulama mufassirs (Muslim scholars interpretering the Qur’an). The result of the study being carried out by the writer is that the concept of ihsan being too narrowly interpreted, proves that it has wide interpretation in the thought of muffasirs. If so far among society the concept of ihsan has been narrowly interpreted on the good deed or doing good deed, so according to mufassirs, the concept means: (1) carrying out all obligations, (2) being patient to receive all the obligation and anything forbidden by God, (3) being obedient and always perfects his obedience in quality as well as in the way, (4) forgiving, (5) being sincere, (6) realizing the existence of God, (7) emphasizing the esoteric aspect rather than exoteric world, (8) knowledge, (9) being firm in the truthfulness, (10) havng understanding about the true teachings of God, (11) having good comprehension about the law appropriately applied among the Islamic society. The wide meaning of this concept because this concept is really expressed by the Koran in context. This article tries to attach the concept of Ihsan in several meanings about the education world

Through the Lens of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics: In comparison between Amina Wadud’s and Mohammed Talbi’s Interpretations of Q. 4:34

SUHUF ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-214
Author(s):  
Afifur Rochman Sya'rani
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Married Couple ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
The Status ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Muslim Scholars ◽  
The Way

Most of traditional Muslim exegetes interpret Q. 4:34 in terms of maintaining the superiority of men over women. Some progressive Muslim scholars then insist a contextual approach to the verse to criticize gender inequality. Among some progressive Muslim scholars, this article comparatively examines the interpretations of Amina Wadud and Mohammed Talbi of Q. 4:34. Although both of them propose a contextual reading of the verse, they have different intellectual background, approach and method in interpreting the Qur’ān. The questions are to what extent the similarities and differences of both Wadud’s and Talbi’s interpretation of Q. 4:34 and how far their interpretations reflect their respective intention and perspective? Applying Gadamer’s hermeneutical approach, the article concludes that [1] Both Wadud and Talbi argue that the verse does not establish the superiority of men over women, but acknowledges duties division among married couple; [2] the difference among their interpretations is on the status of relationship among married couple; [3] Wadud’s and Talbi’s interpretations represent their respective hermeneutical situations and the way they define ontologically the nature of  interpretation and Qur’anic hermeneutics affect on producing the meanings of the verse.

Exile, Diaspora, and Return

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Roniger ◽  
Leonardo Senkman ◽  
Saúl Sosnowski ◽  
Mario Sznajder
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Transnational Connections ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Institutional Impact ◽  
Global Arena ◽  
Education Science ◽  
The Impact

This book explores how Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay have been affected by postexilic relocations, transnational migrant displacements, and diasporas. It provides a systematic analysis of the formation of exile communities and diaspora politics, the politics of return, and the agenda of democratization in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, focusing on the impact of intellectuals, academics, activists, and public figures who had experienced exile on the reconstitution and transformation of their societies following democratization. Readers are offered a kaleidoscope of intellectual itineraries, debates, and contributions held in the public domain by individuals who confronted and fought authoritarian rule. The book covers their contributions to the restructuring and transformation of scientific disciplines and of the humanities and the arts, as well as their collective institutional impact on higher education, science and technology, and public institutions. Bringing together sociopolitical, cultural, and policy analysis with the testimonies of dozens of intellectuals, academics, political activists, and policymakers, the book addresses the impact of exile on people’s lives and on their fractured experiences, the debates and prospects of return, the challenges of dis-exile and postexilic trends, and, finally, the ways in which those who experienced exile impacted democratized institutions, public culture, and discourse. It also follows some crucial shifts in the frontiers of citizenship, moving analysis to transnational connections and permanent diasporas, including the diasporas of knowledge that increasingly changed the very meaning of being national and transnational, while connecting those countries to the global arena.

Financial Crises and the Public Discourse on Financial Elites

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef Cassis ◽  
Giuseppe Telesca
Keyword(s):  
Great Depression ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Late Twentieth

Why were elite bankers and financiers demoted from ‘masters’ to ‘servants’ of society after the Great Depression, a crisis to which they contributed only marginally? Why do they seem to have got away with the recent crisis, in spite of their palpable responsibilities in triggering the Great Recession? This chapter provides an analysis of the differences between the bankers of the Great Depression and their colleagues of the late twentieth/early twenty-first century—regarding their position within, and attitude towards the firm, work culture, mental models, and codes of conduct—complemented with a scrutiny of the public discourse on bankers and financiers before and after the two crises. The authors argue that the (relative) mildness of the Great Recession, compared to the Great Depression, has contributed to preserve elite bankers’ and financiers’ status, income, wealth, and influence. Yet, the long-term consequences of their loss of reputational capital are difficult to assess.

Continuing Visions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Social Activism ◽  
William Blake ◽  
First Century ◽  
Ridley Scott ◽  
American Novel ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Protest Group ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Dead Man

The questions that drove Blake’s American reception, from its earliest moments in the nineteenth century through to the explosion of Blakeanism in the mid-twentieth century, did not disappear. Visions of America continued to be part of Blake’s late twentieth- and early twenty-first century American legacy. This chapter begins with the 1982 film Blade Runner, which was directed by the British Ridley Scott but had an American-authored screenplay and was based on a 1968 American novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It moves to Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 film, Dead Man and Paul Chan’s twenty-first century social activism as part of a protest group called The Friends of William Blake, exploring common themes of democracy, freedom, limit, nationhood, and poetic shape.

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