The Emergence of Islamic Liberation Theology in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-61
Author(s):  
Matthew Palombo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
State Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Subaltern History ◽  
Political Praxis ◽  
Unpublished Manuscripts

AbstractThere is a growing interest in Islamic liberation theology today, and seminal authors such as Ali Shariati, Alighar Ali Engineer (1984, 1990), Farid Esack (1984, 1997), and Hamid Dabashi (2008) have developed its central commitments. In South Africa the earliest representative text was the ‘Review of Faith’ (1984) by Farid Esack, used by the Call of Islam (est. 1984) for cultivating personal piety and conscientization (critical consciousness) against apartheid. Based on recent interviews, unpublished manuscripts, and published works, this article demonstrates how Islamic liberation theology emerged in the political praxis of Muslims against settler colonialism and apartheid. In this subaltern history, political Islam as political praxis and not state building generated a unique discursive space for an Islamic liberation theology to emerge within the confluence of two ideological paths: those of humanism and Islamism.

Theological Education and Anglican Identity in South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Trisk ◽  
Luke Pato
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Spiritual Formation ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Theological Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
Full Account ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Outcomes Based Education

ABSTRACTTheological education should take full account of the context in which it operates and authors share a commitment to a broadly defined liberation theology which takes the experience of the poor as its starting point. Focus is on the College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown, a city with an unemployment rate of over 50 percent. The College supports not only theological education but also integrates ministerial and spiritual formation. The political context of South Africa has influenced the shape of theology even though students come from many other places. The contextualization thrust of the theology is shaped by a commitment to Outcomes Based Education. Anglican studies curriculum is shaped by this method and aims for a capacity to describe such things as Anglican identity, polity and beliefs. This is carried out in the absence of any sustained robust discourse on Anglican identity in the Anglican Communion.

Islamic Liberation Theology. An Inter-Religious Reflection between Gustavo Gutierrez, Farīd Esack and Ḥamīd Dabāšī

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-147
Author(s):  
Marco Demichelis
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
South African ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
Western World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
Concept Of Truth ◽  
The Relationship

In the published text by Ḥamīd Dabāšī, Islamic liberation theology, there is no mention within it of the essay by Farīd Esack, Qurʾān, liberation and pluralism, published in 1997, and after reading both introductions. Perhaps it will be helpful to better recognize the relationship between these two authors, and those who have gone before them (Ašgar ʿAlī Engineer and Šabbir Aḫtar), concerning Islamic Liberation Theology and Theodicy, not only in connection to their thinking and methodological approach, which emerges as being very different, but with respect to the historical events that are affecting the Islamic Middle East in recent years. The hermeneutic and theological approach of F. Esack, the South African citizen, contrasts markedly with the political Šīʿah terminology and methodology, used by Ḥ. Dabāšī, who is a US citizen of Iranian origin. However, their use of similar sources, including such Christian liberation theology authors as Gustavo Gutierrez, allows them to promote a study which is capable of reinterpreting contemporary Islamic theodicy against the background of the recent Middle East uprisings. The analysis to which I am particular attracted concerns the relationship between two reinterpretations of the takfīr concept and the plural identification of the Arab-Islamic holy prophecy, described as advocating religious pluralism. The deconstruction, leading from a purely theological analysis of the takfīr and the interpretation of a plural Islam, is not openly tolerant, but is able to consider a more shared concept of Truth, and could be politically contemplated by a faith approach which remains Islamic-oriented whilst not being culturally tied to the Western world. The balance of political Islam through a faith still acknowledging the transcendent and acting as the backer of human freedom continues to be sought by theorists but is not appreciated by the most uncompromising Muslims believers.

Assembling the Fabric of Life: When Settler Colonialism Becomes Development

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 64-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Jabary Salamanca
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
State Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Relationship

This article brings attention to the political geography of settler colonialism and the ways in which the Palestinian built environment materializes in space, consolidating uneven and racialized landscapes. It argues that settler-colonial space is intimately related to the building of infrastructures structured by development and humanitarian practices. More specifically, the discussion explores how roadscapes are materially and symbolically constructed; it also examines the ways in which development, rather than constituting a tool of empowerment, becomes a mechanism to manage the short-term "humanitarian" needs of Palestinians that arise from the imperatives of settler colonialism. Problematizing road infrastructure allows us to explore the relationship between Palestinian and donor agendas, and concomitant discourses on economic development and state building; in other words, how settler infrastructures are normalized through their association with tropes of modernity, progress, humanitarianism, and development.

scholarly journals Prophetic Theology in Black Theology, with special reference to the Kairos document

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vuyani S. Vellem
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Black Theology ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Prophetic Vision ◽  
Political Praxis ◽  
Alternative Community ◽  
Best Responses ◽  
Theology Of Liberation

The ‘Protest’ and ‘Confessing’ Models in the streams of Black Theology of liberation provide a creative link between the Prophetic Theology in the Kairos document (KD) and the Black Theology of liberation. Launched in a distinct moment of history – an ‘opportune moment’ – the KD propagated the best responses among some and the worst among others as a rapturous critique of State and Church theologies. In this article, I argued that the KD, which remains a version of liberation theology par excellence, offers a methodology that is still appropriate to our democratisation processes in South Africa. The KD is the product of a theology that did not only expand the contours of traditional theology, but also understood confession as a political praxis. Thus, the interest of the poor should still mitigate forth-telling in our democratic vision in dialogue inspired by the alluring prophetic vision of an alternative community based on the principles of the reign of God.

scholarly journals Post Islamisme Turki Studi Praksis Politik Adalet Ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP)

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-166
Author(s):  
Gili Argenti
Keyword(s):  
Political Islam ◽  
The Political ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
New Model ◽  
Ideal Form ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Democratic Systems ◽  
Political Praxis ◽  
The Ideal

Political Islam in Turkey is considered by several circles to be the ideal form of Islamic political praxis in a democratic system. The socio-political phenomenon becomes an antithesis regarding the labeling that Islam cannot go hand in hand with democracy. The political praxis of post Islamism represented by the Adalet Ve Kalkinma Partition (AKP) is proof that Islam is able to adapt and participate in a democratic system. Post Islamism is a new model of a political Islam group that is very aspirational with the values of openness, freedom and equality. This paper is a literature study on the political practices of AKP that take a pragmatic and non-ideological approach, so they are able to attract constituents from other communities outside their traditional groups. The post Islamism model developed by the AKP can be a reference for other political Islamic groups about how to adapt to a system of democratic systems that has become a global trend. Keyword: Political Islam, Adalet Ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP), Post Islamism.

scholarly journals Revisiting Community Organizing and National Liberation in the Saharawi Feminist Politics

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (Summer) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Kenza Yousfi
Keyword(s):  
Community Organizing ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
State Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Temporal Context ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
National Liberation ◽  
National Union ◽  
Feminist Politics ◽  
Political Praxis

This paper examines how Saharawi feminist political praxis shapes community organizing and national liberation politics. I attempt to disrupt the binaries of national liberation and freedom through a reading of the political and temporal context of the engagements of National Union of Saharawi Women feminists in the refugee camps, in Tindouf, Algeria. From ethnographic encounters, the paper aims to challenge the linearity of violence in armed conflict by looking into nuances and politics of feminists who challenge the equation of national liberation as state-building, and simultaneously argue for more just and inclusive forms of organizing for the Saharawi community. This research looks at Saharawi feminist politics and visions for the future that are vigilantly articulated from within militarized institutions and protracted armed conflict.

Managing Ethnicity in African Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
State Building ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Interethnic Relations ◽  
Civic Nationalism ◽  
Formal Recognition

Political regulation of ethnicity has been a core dimension of state-building in Africa, and a set of different macro-political strategies was applied in African postcolonial states to deal with ethnic heterogeneity. One set of strategies consisted in attempts to completely eliminate political manifestations of ethnicity, violently through genocide (Rwanda, 1994) or mass expulsions of ethnic minorities (Uganda, 1973), consensually through secession of autonomous provinces (Eritrea, 1993; South Sudan, 2005), through legal instruments that ban the political expression of ethnic identity such as party bans, or via coercive variants of assimilation (Rwanda, 2001). An opposing option promoted the formal recognition of ethnicity through consociationalism (Burundi, 2005), ethnic federalism (Ethiopia, 1995), ethnic minority rights (Mauritius), or hegemonic control (apartheid South Africa). Many African countries have instead opted for an informal accommodation of ethnic identity in politics, which combines the pursuit of civic nationalism and ethnic party bans with a de facto recognition of ethnic group rights through informal power-sharing, centripetal institutions, or variants of federalism which shift resources and competencies to subnational levels. The choice of strategies is, however, constrained by how interethnic relations have been shaped in the process of postcolonial state-building. Both strategies of elimination and of formal recognition are applied in ranked societies where one racial or ethnic group managed to take control of the state and in which class corresponded with ethnic affiliation. South Africa, which also belonged to this group, seems to be the only country where a liberal model of civic nation is pursued along with a strong recognition of the country’s diversity in the political and constitutional architecture.

Political orientation and moral foundations

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
J Dorasamy ◽  
Mr Jirushlan Dorasamy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
North America ◽  
American Studies ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Open Approach ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
The North

Studies, especially in the North America, have shown a relationship between political orientation and moralfoundation. This study investigated whether moral judgements differ from the political orientation of participantsin South Africa moral judgment and the extent to which moral foundations are influenced by politicalorientation.Further, the study investigated the possibility of similar patterns with the North AmericanConservative-Liberal spectrum and the moral foundation. There were 300participants, 78 males and 222 females,who completed an online questionnaire relating to moral foundation and political orientation. The results partiallysupported the hypothesis relating to Liberal and Conservative orientation in South Africa. Further, this studypartially predicted the Liberal-Conservative orientation with patterns in the moral foundation, whilst showingsimilar findings to the North American studies. A growing rate of a neutral/moderate society is evidenced in SouthAfrica and abroad, thereby showing the emergence of a more open approach to both a political and generalstance.”””

The Foreign Policy Mechanism of the Union Of South Africa and the Development of its Diplomatic Relations (1910–1948)

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Alexandra Arkhangelskaya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
The Political ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Economic Evolution ◽  
Local Elite ◽  
History Of

The history of the formation of South Africa as a single state is closely intertwined with events of international scale, which have accordingly influenced the definition and development of the main characteristics of the foreign policy of the emerging state. The Anglo-Boer wars and a number of other political and economic events led to the creation of the Union of South Africa under the protectorate of the British Empire in 1910. The political and economic evolution of the Union of South Africa has some specific features arising from specific historical conditions. The colonization of South Africa took place primarily due to the relocation of Dutch and English people who were mainly engaged in business activities (trade, mining, agriculture, etc.). Connected by many economic and financial threads with the elite of the countries from which the settlers left, the local elite began to develop production in the region at an accelerated pace. South Africa’s favorable climate and natural resources have made it a hub for foreign and local capital throughout the African continent. The geostrategic position is of particular importance for foreign policy in South Africa, which in many ways predetermined a great interest and was one of the fundamental factors of international involvement in the development of the region. The role of Jan Smuts, who served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948, was particularly prominent in the implementation of the foreign and domestic policy of the Union of South Africa in the focus period of this study. The main purpose of this article is to study the process of forming the mechanisms of the foreign policy of the Union of South Africa and the development of its diplomatic network in the period from 1910 to 1948.

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