Islamic Political Theology
Title | Islamic Political Theology PDF eBook |
Author | Massimo Campanini |
Publisher | Rowman & Littlefield |
Pages | 201 |
Release | 2021-05-11 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 1498590594 |
Can we affirm that a political theology exists in Islam? This apparently simple question is the core of Massimo Capanini and Marco Di Donato's edited collection of essays. Considering the wide range of meanings of political theology this book contains essays written by different authors having their own, specific, and specialized, point of view on the topics, from Shia and Sunni political thought, to Islamic classic philosophy, and philosophers until arriving at contemporary Muslim thinkers.
Political Theology and Islam
Title | Political Theology and Islam PDF eBook |
Author | Paul L. Heck |
Publisher | University of Notre Dame Pess |
Pages | 293 |
Release | 2023-11-15 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0268207348 |
Paul L. Heck’s Political Theology and Islam offers a sophisticated and comprehensive analysis of sovereignty in Islamic society, beginning with the origins of Islam and extending to the present. This wide-ranging study sets out to answer an unassumingly tricky question: What is politics in Islam? Paul L. Heck’s answer takes the form of a close analysis of sovereignty across Islamic history, approaching this concept from the perspective of political theology. As he illustrates, the history of politics in Islam is best understood as an ongoing struggle for a moral order between those who occupy positions of rulership and religious voices that communicate the ethics of Islam and educate the public in their religious and moral devotions. In this sense, sovereignty in Islam is split between ruling powers and pious communities, whose interactions range from close cooperation to outright competition. Heck shows that it is precisely through these interactions that Islamic conceptions of sovereignty are constructed and negotiated. Political Theology and Islam’s first section spells out the concepts and methods for the study of politics in Islam as a struggle for a moral order, one not only involving varied claims to sovereignty but also a general determination to realize the righteousness of Islam that stands at the heart of the message that the Prophet Muhammad conveyed to his society in seventh-century Arabia. The following sections demonstrate, through examples from both the past and today’s worldwide Muslim community, the diverse ways in which the umma, the community of Muslims, has struggled for a moral order that recalls its prophetic message. Deftly moving in various political theaters and through a wide range of intellectual traditions, Heck’s book will emerge as a touchstone of scholarship in the field of Muslim politics and intellectual thought.
Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic Political Philosophy
Title | Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic Political Philosophy PDF eBook |
Author | Muhsin S. Mahdi |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Pages | 284 |
Release | 2020-05-21 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 022677466X |
In this work, Muhsin Mahdi—widely regarded as the preeminent scholar of Islamic political thought—distills more than four decades of research to offer an authoritative analysis of the work of Alfarabi, the founder of Islamic political philosophy. Mahdi, who also brought to light writings of Alfarabi that had long been presumed lost or were not even known, presents this great thinker as his contemporaries would have seen him: as a philosopher who sought to lay the foundations for a new understanding of revealed religion and its relation to the tradition of political philosophy. Beginning with a survey of Islamic philosophy and a discussion of its historical background, Mahdi considers the interrelated spheres of philosophy, political thought, theology, and jurisprudence of the time. He then turns to Alfarabi's concept of "the virtuous city," and concludes with an in-depth analysis of the trilogy, Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. This philosophical engagement with the writings of and about Alfarabi will be essential reading for anyone interested in medieval political philosophy.
Religion and State
Title | Religion and State PDF eBook |
Author | L. Carl. Brown |
Publisher | Columbia University Press |
Pages | 265 |
Release | 2001-08-20 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 0231529376 |
If Westerners know a single Islamic term, it is likely to be jihad, the Arabic word for "holy war." The image of Islam as an inherently aggressive and xenophobic religion has long prevailed in the West and can at times appear to be substantiated by current events. L. Carl Brown challenges this conventional wisdom with a fascinating historical overview of the relationship between religious and political life in the Muslim world ranging from Islam's early centuries to the present day. Religion and State examines the commonplace notion—held by both radical Muslim ideologues and various Western observers alike—that in Islam there is no separation between religion and politics. By placing this assertion in a broad historical context, the book reveals both the continuities between premodern and modern Islamic political thought as well as the distinctive dimensions of modern Muslim experiences. Brown shows that both the modern-day fundamentalists and their critics have it wrong when they posit an eternally militant, unchanging Islam outside of history. "They are conflating theology and history. They are confusing the oughtand the is," he writes. As the historical record shows, mainstream Muslim political thought in premodern times tended toward political quietism. Brown maintains that we can better understand present-day politics among Muslims by accepting the reality of their historical diversity while at the same time seeking to identify what may be distinctive in Muslim thought and action. In order to illuminate the distinguishing characteristics of Islam in relation to politics, Brown compares this religion with its two Semitic sisters, Judaism and Christianity, drawing striking comparisons between Islam today and Christianity during the Reformation. With a wealth of evidence, he recreates a tradition of Islamic diversity every bit as rich as that of Judaism and Christianity.
A Judeo-Islamic Nation
Title | A Judeo-Islamic Nation PDF eBook |
Author | Thomas Mates |
Publisher | Hillcrest Publishing Group |
Pages | 255 |
Release | 2011 |
Genre | Christianity |
ISBN | 1936780763 |
What religion do American "Christians" really believe in? Since the 4th century AD, true-to-the-Gospel Christianity has been a scarce commodity. Believers have always desired a religion more practical than the one in the Book - so much so that among politically active believers, Christianity long ago morphed into a religion more in line with the basic themes of Judaism and Islam (land, prosperity, justice, self-governance, and self-defense) than with the passive fatalism of Jesus and Paul. And since its beginnings in colonial New England, the American version of this Judeo-Islamic faith has continued to evolve, being reshaped time and again by the forces of history, national character, and even by advances in technology. A Judeo-Islamic Nation presents a new kind of religious criticism. Written by a scientist and nonbeliever, it presents an analysis intended not to defeat or marginalize religion, but simply to emphasize its human, evolving nature. A Judeo-Islamic Nation was written to stimulate a richer, more productive conversation between believers and nonbelievers, and between American Christians and Muslims. "This is a thoughtful examination of the role of religion in American public life. It shows how recent trends challenge both the traditional notion that religion is a private matter as well as the notion of a civil religion that unites everyone in the faith of Americanism." -Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State
Islam and Good Governance
Title | Islam and Good Governance PDF eBook |
Author | M. A. Muqtedar Khan |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 278 |
Release | 2019-04-08 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 1137548320 |
This book advances an Islamic political philosophy based on the concept of Ihsan, which means to do beautiful things. The author moves beyond the dominant model of Islamic governance advanced by modern day Islamists. The political philosophy of Ihsan privileges process over structure, deeds over identity, love over law and mercy and forgiveness over retribution. The work invites Muslims to move away from thinking about the form of Islamic government and to strive to create a self-critical society that defends national virtue and generates institutions and practices that provide good governance.
Islamic Political Thought
Title | Islamic Political Thought PDF eBook |
Author | Gerhard Bowering |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 297 |
Release | 2015-03-29 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0691164827 |
A concise and authoritative introduction to Islamic political ideas In sixteen concise chapters on key topics, this book provides a rich, authoritative, and up-to-date introduction to Islamic political thought from the birth of Islam to today, presenting essential background and context for understanding contemporary politics in the Islamic world and beyond. Selected from the acclaimed Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, and focusing on the origins, development, and contemporary importance of Islamic political ideas and related subjects, each chapter offers a sophisticated yet accessible introduction to its topic. Written by leading specialists and incorporating the latest scholarship, the alphabetically arranged chapters cover the topics of authority, the caliphate, fundamentalism, government, jihad, knowledge, minorities, modernity, Muhammad, pluralism and tolerance, the Qur'an, revival and reform, shariʿa (sacred law), traditional political thought, ‘ulama' (religious scholars), and women. Read separately or together, these chapters provide an indispensable resource for students, journalists, policymakers, and anyone else seeking an informed perspective on the complex intersection of Islam and politics. The contributors are Gerhard Bowering, Ayesha S. Chaudhry, Patricia Crone, Roxanne Euben, Yohanan Friedmann, Paul L. Heck, Roy Jackson, Wadad Kadi, John Kelsay, Gudrun Krämer, Ebrahim Moosa, Armando Salvatore, Aram A. Shahin, Emad El-Din Shahin, Devin J. Stewart, SherAli Tareen, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman. A new afterword discusses the essays in relation to contemporary political developments.