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.

scholarly journals Domestic Dynamics of Political Islam in the Greater Middle East

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Rudman ◽  
Kevin Schoonover ◽  
Arthur Neron-Bancel ◽  
Israel Barriga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
The State ◽  
Western World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Force ◽  
Political Background ◽  
The Impact

These four nations showcase the state of Islamism as a political force in the Middle East. Because of differing political circumstances in each state, the impact and viability of following Muslim law varies. In order to best explain why this is so, we will explore the political background of each nation, as well as discuss the current political climates of the countries in question. Finally, we will postulate as to what type of impact the ascension of an Islamic government will have on relations with the Western world, whether it be European nations, as is the case with Turkey, or the United States, as with Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt. The implications of this possibility are enormous; therefore, we feel that the importance of understanding the region cannot be overstated.

The East

2021 ◽  
pp. 382-398
Author(s):  
Brenda Deen Schildgen
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
The Political ◽  
Geographical Knowledge ◽  
Political World ◽  
Historical Theory

This chapter addresses four aspects of Dante’s use of the concept of oriens or the East: First, scientific, his geographical knowledge and orientation, that is the orbis terrarum model that underlies the Commedia and the Monarchia and the role of the East in it; second, political geography whereby he renders the theory of a tripartite single-landmass Earth in service to his historical theory that puts Rome in the center of the political world; third, his use of Arabic learning and philosophy; fourth, the fictive ‘orient’ or East, which poses political Islam as a danger and threat (and includes North Africa and the Middle East); imagines India as a revered East; finally, presents the ‘East’ as the source for ‘wonders’ that reveal God’s creative grandeur and incommensurability. Dante, thus, represents many Easts, including a political East and a geographical East, a learned East, as well as an imaginary East.

The Creation of Sustainable Orientalism in Cinema

2021 ◽  
pp. 574-590
Author(s):  
Can Diker ◽  
Esma Koç
Keyword(s):  
Western World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Film Festivals ◽  
The West ◽  
Hollywood Films ◽  
World Cinema ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Relationship

The myth of modern culture's superiority to other cultures is instilled as a norm to the masses through the media. The myth of the cultural superiority of the West not only formed with the economic possibilities of the West but was also supported by the non-Western world by self-orientalism, thus becoming sustainable. While themes such as modernity, development, and technological superiority are watched within the scope of Hollywood films, several platforms have been created for non-US countries to watch alternative films. Although films known as European and World Cinema have the chance to show themselves at film festivals rather than film theatres, non-Western directors face a cultural challenge in these festivals due to the sociocultural structure of Western-based film festivals. In this study, by examining how non-Western directors are directed towards self-orientalism indirectly through festivals and funds, the relationship between the creation of sustainable orientalism in cinema and the political economy of the film industry will be revealed.

6. The Puzzle of Political Reform in the Middle East

2019 ◽  
pp. 132-157
Author(s):  
Augustus Richard Norton
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter assesses the critical issue of political reform in the Middle East. The Arab world has been slow to respond to the global processes of democratization. The chapter then highlights the political economy of states, the persistence of conflict, regime type, and the ambiguity over the relationship between democracy and Islam. This relationship is not necessarily a contradictory one. Islamic discourse is marked by participation and diversity rather than by rigidity and intolerance. Further, as the Arab Spring has illustrated, civil society is vibrant and growing in many states across the region. Meanwhile, responses from the West to political reform have been lukewarm, with stability and regional alliances privileged over democracy. The evidence from the region, even before the Arab uprisings, is that peoples want better and more representative government, even if they remain unclear as to what type of government that should be.

6. The Puzzle of Political Reform in the Middle East

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustus Richard Norton
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Regime Type ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Arab States ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the issue of political reform in the Middle East. More specifically, it considers the enormous challenges that face proponents of political reform in the region. To this end, the chapter focuses on the legacies of state formation that shape the contemporary political systems, as well as the changing economic and social parameters of societies in today’s Middle East. After explaining the democracy deficit in the Middle East, the chapter shows that the Arab states have been slow to respond to the global processes of democratization. It also explores the political economy of Arab states, the persistence of conflict, regime type, and the ambiguity over the relationship between democracy and Islam. Finally, it analyses the Arab Spring as evidence of the vibrancy and growth of civil society in many states across the region.

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.

scholarly journals The evolution of Hollywood's representation of Arabs before 9/11: the relationship between political events and the notion of 'Otherness'

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sulaiman Arti
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic Revolution ◽  
American Power ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Stereotypical Image ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Middle Easterners

This article will deliberate on the political motives behind the stereotypical image of Arabs in Hollywood in the period before 9/11. Hollywood has always played a propagandist as well as a limitative role for the American imperial project, especially, in the Middle East. This study suggests that the evolution of this representation has been profoundly influenced by political events such as the creation of Israel, the Iranian Islamic revolution and the demise of the Soviet Union. Hollywood’s presentation of Arabs through a distinctive lens allows America, through Hollywood, to present the Middle East as ‘alien’ and so helps to make it an acceptable area for the exercise of American power. The interpretations of Hollywood’s representation of Middle Easterners involve different, often contradictory, types of image. They also suggest that the intensification of the Arabs’ stereotypical image over the last century from ‘comic villains’ to ‘foreign devils’ did not occur in a vacuum but, certainly, with the intertwinement of both political and cultural interests in the region. It is believed that this was motivated indirectly by U.S imperial objectives.

8. Islam and International Relations in the Middle East: From Umma to Nation State

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Mandaville
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic Revival ◽  
Islamic Movement ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the issue of identity in the Middle East from an Islamic perspective. It shows how Islam, in a variety of forms, has interacted with the domestic, regional, and international politics of the region. The chapter first provides an overview of the history and concepts of Islam and international relations in the Middle East before discussing the relationship between pan-Islam, colonialism, and the establishment of modern nation states in the Middle East, using Egypt and Saudi Arabia as case studies. It then explores the political economy of Islamic revival as well as the role of Islam in Cold War geopolitics and in foreign policymaking. It also considers how globalization has acted as a facilitator of transnational Islam and concludes by assessing how the Arab Spring has created new opportunities and challenges for the Islamic movement, along with their implications for Arab states’ foreign policies.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF INADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY TO THE COMMUNITY, WITH REFERENCE TO GIDAN KWANO IN NIGER STATE: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
pp. 108-119
Author(s):  
Yusuf Yahaya ◽  
Mustapha Usman ◽  
Muhammad Yusuf ◽  
Isyaku Rabiu ◽  
Ammani Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Western World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

The Study is about the Relationship between the Western world and the Muslim world couple with understanding the role of Saudi Arabia in its leadership to the Islamic world. It analyzes the perceptions of Muslims especially in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. It takes on a background of Islam and Saudi Arabia from earliest period to date. The study has been limited by understanding the perception of Muslim in relation to Saudi Arabian Leadership role. Time, Money and other resources constraints frequent demands.

Iraq

2017 ◽  
pp. 147-160
Author(s):  
Nergis Dama
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
The Political ◽  
Regional Politics ◽  
Regional Stability ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The World ◽  
Administrative Structures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Demographic Features

This chapter includes Iraq perspectives in terms of Turkey, Iran and geopolitical dynamics. The future of Iraq will determine the socio-economic balances in the Middle East. Because of the instability of Iraq effect regional politics, economics and social circumstances, the acknowledge of Iraq' features should be known clearly. In this chapter, the political administration of Iraq is explained as historically. Then, demographic structure and socio-political features are shown forth in detail, given that socio-political, socio-cultural and demographic features of Iraq should be investigated in terms of regional security. The importance of part including the political, administrative institutions in Iraq is that policy makers will be affected from cumulative perception of administrative structures. On condition that Iran and Turkey are related to the incidences in Iraq, the relationship among Turkey, Iran and Iraq is commented. Ultimately in this chapter, radicalism threatening all the world is explained in terms of regional stability.

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