This entry's companion piece: "Islamic Women's Revolution".
My literary education in Islam may have started with the classic and on occassion reviled Raphael Patai's The Arab Mind (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973) but I am certain it will end with other reading and other perceptions of Islam and its adherents.
Patai in 1973 set the stage for General Petraeus's echo in Baghdad this summer with the thought that without criticism, introspection, and some kind of updating either in language or practice, there may not be much progress, from a western point of view, to be had with Islam.
That thinking now encounters an established, telling, and growing counterpoint: the presence of Islam in western societies and the prevalence in predominantly "open societies" to question, revisit, and reformulate everything continuously from both expert and popular bases. Implicit in the concept of freedom, curiosity and reformulation prove irresistible to personalities that through accidents of fate coupled with will find themselves on a small part of the wheel of history and endowed intellectually and logistically with the ability to articulate and publish ideas bearing directly on the most difficult issues at hand.
In the wake of Lal Masjid, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf asked, "What do we as a nation want? What kind of Islam do these people represent?" [1]
Those rhetorical questions, which I cannot address, may be answered in part by those who have stakes in Islamic identity, the sculpting of contemporary western lives, and the fashioning of peace.
Note: I'm aware of public relations advocacy and defense institutions representing Islam but seem to want to avoid them here as I do in Jewish life as well. My inclination is to focus on personalities as I find them and as they appeal to me as critical and progressive intellectuals.
Herewith, the start of a list of men, just started this July 26, 2007, writing about Islamic culture and theology as appropriate and fitted to contemporary "western" (I would call it "universal middle class" actually) life.
Hesham A. Hassaballa: His blog: God, Faith, and a Pen: The Official Blog of Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa. In the creative writing and English literature classrooms, one may try to provide students with a better story about their lives than they would otherwise care to provide to themselves. That intent has nothing to do with fakery or manipulation but rather clarified thinking along well formulated strands. I wouldn't call the foundations--whether mystical or empirically reasoning, secular or religious--for similar invention interchangeable, but they may be less opposed than some (or many) would wish to have them. Either way, the good story strengthens identity and enhances life and the love of it, and I sense that intent in this gentleman's work and pass both his name and blog address along to you.
Mohamed Sifaoui: The blog's in French: http://www.mohamed-sifaoui.com/. Britain's Telegraph has billed him as "The Man Who Got Inside Al Qaeda" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2003/08/31/bosif24.xml). And there's a book: Inside Al Qaeda. More journalist than activist, possibly, I think he's going to be around a while and thought to list him here. His blog provides for an e-mailed newsletter subscription.
Naser Khader: Founder of the Democratic Muslims in Denmark, the Dutch parliamentarian works to hear and frame the Muslim community's positions in his country while trying himself to stay a democratic and moderate course. In a recent interview with Middle East Quarterly (MEQ) publisher Daniel Pipes, he notes that, "Muslims of Denmark differ widely on politics and religion, and to our delight, it turns out that the largest group of Muslims were those who supported our work." Khader has a web site with an English translation under way: http://www.khader.dk/flx/in_english/. The MEQ interview, "Naser Khader and Flemming Rose: Reflections on the Danish Cartoon Controversy," resides here: http://www.meforum.org/article/1758.
Tawfique Chowdhury: An example of the Aussie's work: "The Ethical Role of Religion in Promoting Peace (Part 1)"; his bio online with the Alkauthar Institute, through which, I presume, he may be reached. Native Americans have made mention to me of the "professional Indian"--the guy who dresses up for the Hollywood buck--and there's a little taint of that in all who package up a little bit of culture for capitalism, which is undeniably in full swing here. However, beneath the "professional Indian" there is always a real one, and beneath the DVD set and jet setting, one finds also the soul of the person and the authenticity of the quest.
Another Native American note passed to me: "Speak, so we may see you."
Last updated: September 25, 2007
1. "Musharraf vows war on militants." BBC News, July 12, 2007, 16:51 GMT.
Correspondence and Permissions: James S. Oppenheim
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