Phil Johnson has some helpful things to say if you want more orientation [pun intended] on contempory Islam.
"...all is not well inside various Islamic countries. There is great disparity between those who rule and live luxuriantly, and those denied access to power and wealth. The need to have renewal inside Islam is not something new. Movements for spiritual renewal and socio-political renovation go back to the days of the Caliphs. ... Those who feel that Islamic tradition has been compromised have often begun to agitate inside a given state seeking to preach for renewal and reform and justice. Some have headed off in what is tagged as a fundamentalist reaction to modernity; others have sought to accomodate Islamic culture with not only industrialisation and technology, but also the global matrices we all now experience. But it would be simplistic to think of this as simply fundamentalism and liberalism at work inside Islam. There are crucial issues at stake."
He gives us a good way into the politico-religious issues.
"circle of pneuma: Foreign Policy & Islamic Crises:[:Islam:]
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I've been watching the TV series 'Foundation'. I read the books about 50 years ago (I know!) but scarcely now remember anything...
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from: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/online/2012/5/22/1337672561216/Annular-solar-eclipse--008.jpg -
I've just had an article published on emergingchurch.info. It's an adaptation of some of my book, but I thought I'd share it and...
3 comments:
Replace the word islam with chritianity and caliph with christendom and it's clear that this paragraph is about the state of countries and the human conditions of power. I'm sure it could equally be applied to the Hindu nationalists and other groups as well.
There is a lot of truth in what you say James, and recognising it helps us to grasp empathetically some important dimensions and trajectories of thought and discontent within Islam. It can also help us to be more alive to the very real and deeply felt divergencies within Islam. However, there is one area where I think we need to tread carefully; Islam is a much more political/statehood religion interms of its foundation documents than Christianity and perhaps Hinduism and part of the crisis of Islam is about forging identities and modi vivendi which get beyond the traditional Dar al Islam / Dar al Harb sorts of distinctions and which can recognise the kinds of post-christendom state neutrality vis a vis religion that many of us feel may be important to avoid the worst excesses of state imposed religion that Christendom came to -against the spirit of Christian faith's founder and foundation documents, it should be noted: in Christendom we had a system that was a declension from the genius of Christ in compromise with the needs of governing a nominally Christian population, in the Caliphate we have the embodiment of the spirit of Islam where not having state power is the Muslim challenge.
Interesting points. I think the transistion in christianity from public to private morality (some say) mirrors the move away from an obsessive legalism that can dominate islam. I agree with yourbservation that we need to tread carefully here, especially as non-muslims ourselves. The question of power is being played out differently here though than in the early days of christendom; the ummah is both globally dispersed and heavily regionalised, in some areas localised power already exists but the seats of power are marginalised globally. You make an important point in making refence to the divergencies within Islam - an issue that is not explained very well to, or understood by, many in the west.
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