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Islam and the Myth of Confrontation

Author: Fred Halliday

Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 9781850439592

The author examines the widely accepted image of confrontation between "Islam" and "the West", created largely by the rise of Islamic militancy in the Middle East and the perceived influence of Islam on politics and society. Considering the sources of Islamic militancy and the rhetoric of Islamic and anti-Muslim leaders, he argues that the Middle East is a set of variant societies, facing the economic and political problems of the Third World.

The Confrontation Between Tradition and Faith.

Author: Dr. Khallid Shabazz

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2010-07-26

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 0557576822

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In this work, I have attempted to explain various myths, concerning the prevailing thought of those early and contemporary Muslims and their misapprehensions concerning the Islamic purest source. The basic reason for the origination of these myths, cultural implications are that the Muslims have become lethargic and stagnant in their thinking and therefore have become blind followers in a religion that encourages thinking on the highest level. This stagnation has become intensified by Muslims, which are now being born into a system where the scholarly have absolute authority over the thinking of the masses, which encourages blind following, and extremisms.

Islamic Approaches to Conflict Resolution and Peace

Author: Abdul Aziz Said

Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Published: 2002-02-12

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13: 9948005953

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Within the Muslim community, the call for peace has manifested and will undoubtedly continue to manifest itself in diverse ways. This reflects continuous efforts to interpret and apply foundational Islamic values in specific historical, social, and cultural situations. Islamic concepts of peace have been misrepresented, misunderstood, or simply ignored. There are indeed differences between prevailing Western and Islamic conceptions of peace. These differences constitute a basis for an ongoing dialogue on the topic. Beneath different interpretations of Islam, there is an underlying unity of intention that gives coherence to various approaches to peace. These in Islam can be categorized in five paradigms. Many Muslims have, at one time or another, subscribed to views that incorporate aspects of more than one paradigm. The model of power politics exalts state authority, views peace simply as the absence of war, and emphasizes the political necessities created by threatening environments. The Islamic world order approach sees peace as a condition defined by the presence of such core Islamic values as order, justice, equity, cultural coexistence (as in the Iranian Dialogue of Civilizations initiative), and ecological stability. Practitioners of Islamic approaches to conflict resolution adhere to a restorative conception of peace that encompasses notions of just compensation for losses, renunciation of retribution, and forgiveness. Though it is not widely recognized, an Islamic paradigm for nonviolence does in fact exist, and some of the most notable recent applications of it have occurred in South and Southeast Asia. Peace is understood as the presence of social justice, which must be sought by a just means. The last approach to peace, the Islamic equivalent of a transformational, spiritually centered paradigm, defines peace as a condition of harmony attained through the transformation of human consciousness. The dominant Western approach to peace finds its substance in political pluralism, individual rights, and, in practice - if not in precept - consumerism. In contrast, Islamic precepts permit a view of peace based on communal solidarity, social justice, faith and cultural pluralism. The differences between Western and Islamic approaches to conflict resolution reflect some of the differences between these two respective perspectives on peace. While the strongest Western approach to conflict resolution is to conceptualize and solve problems, the Islamic approach emphasizes the mending and maintenance of social relationships. Muslims see conflict and competition between individuals and groups as a threat to social unity, stability, and welfare, and are often somewhat less optimistic about conflict than the advocates of new Western approaches. Research and dialogue on conceptions of peace and peacemaking provide and alternative to the solipsism of culture - bound thinking. The can promote a deeper understanding of cross - cultural differences and a greater appreciation of the shared values and goals that will be needed if true coexistence - and perhaps even intercultural complementarity - is to be achieved.

Blaming Islam

Author: John R. Bowen

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2012-03-02

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 0262301105

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Why fears about Muslim integration into Western society—propagated opportunistically by some on the right—misread history and misunderstand multiculturalism. In the United States and in Europe, politicians, activists, and even some scholars argue that Islam is incompatible with Western values and that we put ourselves at risk if we believe that Muslim immigrants can integrate into our society. Norway's Anders Behring Breivik took this argument to its extreme and murderous conclusion in July 2011. Meanwhile in the United States, state legislatures' efforts to ban the practice of Islamic law, or sharia, are gathering steam—despite a notable lack of evidence that sharia poses any real threat. In Blaming Islam, John Bowen uncovers the myths about Islam and Muslim integration into Western society, with a focus on the histories, policy, and rhetoric associated with Muslim immigration in Europe, the British experiment with sharia law for Muslim domestic disputes, and the claims of European and American writers that Islam threatens the West. Most important, he shows how exaggerated fears about Muslims misread history, misunderstand multiculturalism's aims, and reveal the opportunism of right wing parties who draw populist support by blaming Islam.

The Conflict Within Islam

Author: Israr Hasan

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2011-12

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1462083013

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This is not a book of history; it does not claim to cover every aspect of Islam religion. It confines itself to the search for the true mission of Islam and how that mission has been hijacked in the struggle of faith and power. This is the story of contest between religion and politics where politics was made a sacrament and religion abused. In describing this aspect, the historical part naturally cannot be ignored. This is not a book of religion either. Since religionand politics overlap each other in this study, theology and jurisprudence have their interplay also. The conflict within Islam for the soul of Islam continues. Will the struggle be resolved in the present and the foreseeable future? Or will it make life more difficult for the faithful? This book attempts to find the answers.

Islam in Conflict

Author: Peter G. Riddell

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 9780851119984

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"Since the Iraq crisis, the attack on the twin towers and the constant terrorist threat to the West, many of our worst fears seem to be connected to the religion of Islam. And yet we are told that Islam is a peace-loving religion, concerned with worship of God and care for the poor. What is the truth behind the prejudice and the politics?" "Drawing from sources such as the Qur'an, Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad and contemporary writings, Islam in Conflict goes behind the recent crisis to discuss the history of Islam, and its basic structure and beliefs. The authors ask the non-Muslim world to attempt to understand Islam from the perspective of Muslims and to acknowledge past mistakes. At the same time, they challenge the Muslim world by suggesting that Islam stands at a vital crossroads and the way forward is for them alone to decide." "Islam in Conflict will appeal to all those who are interested in an alternative to the easily packaged descriptions of the relationship between Islam and the West."--BOOK JACKET.

Islam and Conflict Resolution

Author: Ralph H. Salmi

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9780761810964

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Islam and Conflict Resolution investigates and analyzes those aspects of Islam that deal with international law and peaceful resolution of conflict in an attempt to bridge the gap between the Western and Islamic worlds. The authors seek to expose the common ground that exists between the beliefs of Islam and those of the Judeo-Christian religions that influence action in the modern world. Most importantly, they seek to clarify the Muslim belief that conflict is not permanent or unavoidable, pointing out that Islam offers many recommendations for reducing conflict at various levels of personal and interstate relations. The book encourages an intellectual effort on both sides for education that will lead to a definite understanding of each other's world so as to lead to fair treatment in policymaking and journalism as well as an end to hostility between the Muslim and Judeo-Christian worlds.

The Myth of Religious Violence

Author: William T Cavanaugh

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-09-03

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0199888884

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The idea that religion has a dangerous tendency to promote violence is part of the conventional wisdom of Western societies, and it underlies many of our institutions and policies, from limits on the public role of religion to efforts to promote liberal democracy in the Middle East. William T. Cavanaugh challenges this conventional wisdom by examining how the twin categories of religion and the secular are constructed. A growing body of scholarly work explores how the category 'religion' has been constructed in the modern West and in colonial contexts according to specific configurations of political power. Cavanaugh draws on this scholarship to examine how timeless and transcultural categories of 'religion and 'the secular' are used in arguments that religion causes violence. He argues three points: 1) There is no transhistorical and transcultural essence of religion. What counts as religious or secular in any given context is a function of political configurations of power; 2) Such a transhistorical and transcultural concept of religion as non-rational and prone to violence is one of the foundational legitimating myths of Western society; 3) This myth can be and is used to legitimate neo-colonial violence against non-Western others, particularly the Muslim world.

The Struggle Within Islam

Author: Rafiq Zakaria

Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13:

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"Islam is a simple religion: it requires of its followers only two things -- one, a belief in the unity of God and, two, a belief in the prophethood of Muhammad. Despite the pure and homogeneous nature of the faith, the history of Islam has been one of conflict. The first problem Islam faced was the issue of succession to the Prophet. from then on, Islam has been riven by dissent -- a result of the almost uninterrupted face-off between Islamic rulers, who were usually secular and flexible in their interpretation and implementation of the rules and practices of Islam and fundamentalist theologians, jurists and their followers, who insisted on a rigid adherence to the Quran and the Sunna. Besides a thorough analysis of this problem, the author examines other issues that have led to discord -- the treatment of non-Muslims in an Islamic State; the power of taxation of the State; the nature of punishment for certain offences mentioned in the Quran and so on." --Page [4] of cover.

Shattering the Myth

Author: Bruce B. Lawrence

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0691188297

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Islam is often portrayed, especially in Western media, as an alien, violent, hostile, and monolithic religion, whose adherents are intent upon battling nonbelievers throughout the world. Shattering the Myth demonstrates that these conceptions more accurately reflect the bias of Western reporters than they do the realities of contemporary Islam. Westerners are barraged by images of violence that usually originate from armed confrontations in one small corner of the world. Islam, Bruce Lawrence argues, is a complex, international religious system that cannot be reduced to stereotypes. As Lawrence demonstrates, Islam is a religion shaped as much by its own postulates and ethical demands as by the specific circumstances of Muslim people in the modern world. The last two hundred years have brought many challenges for Muslims, from colonial subjugation through sporadic revivalism to elitist reform movements and, most recently, pervasive struggles with fundamentalism. During each period, Muslims have had to address internal tensions, as well as external threats. Today Muslims in the post-colonial era, only some of whom are Arab and living in the Middle East, are playing ever greater roles in economic changes, both regional and international. As the impact of these changes has become evident in societies around the globe, new leaders have come into public view. The most remarkable emerging presence is that of Muslim women. Lawrence argues that it is the experience of Muslim women in particular that calls for a more nuanced understanding of Islam today. It is time, Lawrence believes, to replace inaccurate images of Islam with a recognition of the multifaceted character of this global religion and of its widely diverse adherents. Here he describes changes that are taking place throughout the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, enacted by governments and nongovernmental organizations alike. In a time of rapid international change, Lawrence suggests that it is time for our images of Islam to reflect more clearly the realities of Islam as it is lived. Shattering the Myth provides significant insights into the history of Islam and a greater understanding of the varied experiences of Muslims today. "An informed interpretation of the contemporary Muslim experience . . . Lawrence's explanations for the particular states of affairs in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia, among other cases, are compelling . . . [A] distinguished contribution."--From the foreword by James Piscatori and Dale F. Eickelman