20 research outputs found
A Controversial Orthodoxy:Al-Ghazali’s Revival of the Religious Sciences
No full textAs part of NTT JTSR’s series on Key Texts, the present article discusses the magnum opus of the medieval Muslim scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn (Revival of the Religious Sciences): its genre, the main aspects of the critique it generated and its relevance to contemporary Muslim debates. This work is still celebrated in Muslim traditionalism as a masterpiece on Islamic spiritual sublimity and self-purification, based on scriptural-traditional references and the mystic experience of the author. The Iḥyāʾ inspired many authors with commentaries, annotations, epitomes and explanations. Yet it stirred no less critique among religious scholars and conservative currents as a work indulging religious novelties as well as spreading inauthentic traditions and unorthodox practices among Muslims. The controversy about this work reflects an intra-Islamic antagonism towards the notion of orthodoxy, and what it entails for the Muslim faith and praxis
Coping with a Quranic truth claim: Muslim hermeneutics of knowledge and pluralism
No full textSince the latter half of the twentieth century, Western philosophers of religion and scholars of religion have been fervently preoccupied with the question of religious truth claims and how to evaluate a Christian theological view of other religious traditions. This resulted in the standardization of inclusivism, exclusivism, and pluralism as distinct universal approaches to the truth claim predicament. Employing Qur’anic exegesis, hermeneutics, and the semantics of core Islamic concepts, this article offers a critique of this standardized typology as less relevant to the Muslim perspective of religious diversity. Based on an Islamic view of the relativity of human knowledge and the centrality of a revelatory epistemic premise, this typology is hardly akin to a Muslim traditional perspective. The Qur’an defines the boundaries between the Islamic truth claim, salvific exclusion, and the ethical codes for Muslims to deal with a worldly context that is ab initio diverse. This article argues that an Islamic pluralistic view, as delineated on the basis of the Qur’an, supersedes the dilemma of religious truth claims and seeks realistic ethical regulations to deal with religious otherness
The Theology and Ethics of Vaccination Receptivity among Dutch Muslims
No full textMuslim tradition has given significant attention to plagues and pandemics based on scriptural texts and theological-ethical norms. Yet, the outbreak of COVID-19 evoked varied reactions among Muslims due to enormous innovations in healthcare and media coverage. COVID-19 vaccination strategies demonstrate how Dutch Muslim attitudes are influenced by factors beyond Islamic theology of pandemics. Other reasons may be behind the unwillingness of some Muslims to vaccinate. These could be traced to certain readings and (mis)interpretations of relevant theological texts, shared cultural schemas among like-minded people, fear of vaccination, lack of clarity, online misinformation, language barriers and political mistrust in local authorities and global health measures. These conclusions are backed up by fieldwork research among Dutch Muslim detainees as an example of what might be called a “local vaccination culture.” It demonstrates that the vaccination decisions are pragmatic and less religiously informed. However, the role imams, religious leaders and representative organs play in this process should not be underestimated. As counter-narratives of anti-vaccinations arguments, theological incentives have a significant impact on Muslim attitudes towards restrictive measures and vaccination policies.</p
Islam, State, Democracy and Freedom of Religion: An Islamic Perspective
No full textDeze bijdrage richt zich op de vraag: in hoeverre kan een islamitische politiekevisie ruimte bieden voor democratische kernwaarden in het algemeen engodsdienstvrijheid in het bijzonder? In het kader van dit artikel zal ik medaarbij beperken tot de volgende kernpunten: de verhouding tussen islam eneen democratische rechtstaat en de vraag of hier enige verenigbaarheid tussenmogelijk is (paragraaf 2), en de controversiële kwestie van afvalligheid in hetraamwerk van godsdienstvrijheid in de islam (paragraaf 3)
