Critical-Progressive Muslims: On Islamic hermeneutics, Gender and Interreligious Dialogue

  Deconstructing Revelation: Toward a Radical Critique of Religious and Secular Reason Adis Duderija In an era where religious fundamentalisms clash with secular dogmas, and where the specter of ideological extremism haunts global discourse, it is imperative to revisit the foundations of our intellectual traditions. As a scholar who has devoted decades to the study of Islam, Mohammad Arkoun  (d.2010) has persistently challenged the unquestioned pillars upon which religious thought rests. From his earliest publications to his most recent, he has sought to interrogate the cognitive status of what Muslim theologians, exegetes, historians, and jurists have long regarded as revelation —a concept often accepted without scrutiny as an immutable given. This acceptance has erected a formidable edifice of tradition, rich in its intricacies yet perilously dependent on vast expanses of the unthought and the unthinkable. Conservative and fundamentalist forms of contemporary Islam, burden...

  The Inconvenient Truth About Muslim Diversity: Why Progressives, Liberals, Secularists, and Cultural Muslims Are the Real Face of Islam Adis Duderija In an era of polarizing headlines and echo-chamber debates, there's an inconvenient truth that shatters the narratives pushed by both Islamophobes and fundamentalist Muslims: the vast majority of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims aren't the rigid traditionalists or dogmatic enforcers that extremists on either side would have us believe. Instead, they are progressives, liberals, secularists, and cultural adherents who embrace Islam not as a straitjacket of rules, but as a civilisational and cultural heritage that in some forms can offer a  profound moral and ethical framework. And crucially, these Muslims are no less Islamic for it—their views stem from deep conviction, rooted in thoughtful interpretation of the faith, not some watered-down compromise or external pressure. Let's dispense with the myths. Islamophobes pai...

  Embracing the Fluidity of Divine Revelation: Amina Wadud's Vision for an Inclusive Qur'anic Interpretation "There has never been one static notion of what it means that the Qur an is the literal word of God/Allah. Consensus does not exist. There is however endless debate about whether any speech-act or text can capture the totality of divine sovereignty. Because of the breadth of those discussions, I am never inclined to say that either we take it all or we must take nothing. Actually trying to capture both the transcendent nature of the sacred and the concrete manifestation that revelation becomes as it solidifies into text is one of the saving graces to these discourses over the application of text to real lives and real policies, and to the transformation of ethical and moral standpoints. As soon as we acknowledge that none can know fully what Allah meant, then the door is open to both patriarchal and feminist egalitarian readings. " amina wadud  in https:...

  The Prophets Were Visionaries, Not Scholars: Why Religious Fundamentalism Is Holding Us Back   Adis Duderija In an era of rapid scientific advancement and global interconnectedness, it's tempting to view ancient religious figures through a modern lens—as profound philosophers or rigorous theologians whose words form the bedrock of eternal truths. But this is a profound misunderstanding. The prophets of traditional religions, from Moses and Isaiah in Judaism to Muhammad in Islam and the seers of Hinduism's Vedas, were not scholars poring over texts in ivory towers. They were visionary preachers and mystics, speaking in kerygmatic bursts of proclamation and theopoetic flourishes of divine poetry. They weren't constructing systematic theologies or debating metaphysics (e.g. like Plato or Aquinas). This fundamental truth is what religious fundamentalism and traditionalism stubbornly refuse to acknowledge, ensuring their role as regressive forces in our contemporary worl...

  Feminist Tafsir: Navigating Ethical and Pragmatic Voices in Islamic Texts Feminist tafsir, a burgeoning field within Islamic studies, seeks to reinterpret traditional Islamic texts through a gender-conscious lens . One of the cornerstone distinctions made in feminist tafsir is between the ethical vision of the text and its pragmatic or legal voice. This distinction invites scholars and practitioners alike to explore not only the surface meanings of religious scriptures but also the deeper ethical ideals that can promote gender justice and equity within Islamic discourse. Understanding this differentiation begins with a closer examination of the texts themselves. Islamic scripture, primarily the Quran, comprises a complex fusion of ethical guidelines, laws, and kerygmatic narratives. On the one hand, the ethical vision encapsulates spiritual and moral imperatives that advocate justice, compassion, and equality. The Quran articulates ideals of social justice, communal responsib...

  Rethinking Divine Hiddenness: God's Accessibility in an Age of Doubt In an era where atheism and agnosticism are on the rise, the age-old question of why God remains hidden—if S/He exists at all—continues to perplex believers and skeptics alike. The "problem of divine hiddenness" argues that a loving God should make His presence unmistakably clear, especially to those earnestly seeking Him. Yet, excerpts from a forthcoming book by Michael C. Rea, the Rev. John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, challenge this notion in profound ways. Drawing from his work on the hiddenness of God, Rea posits ideas that could reshape how we understand faith, seeking, and divine relationship. As someone fascinated by the intersection of philosophy and spirituality, I find these insights not only intellectually stimulating but potentially transformative for a world grappling with spiritual disconnec...

  Embracing Religious Pluralism in a Diverse World Adis Duderija " "True pluralism focuses on the understanding of religion within the socio-historic context of its culture. Divine Truth is not confined to the narrow understanding of human conceptualization and so cannot be limited to one truth for all nations....Thus, the immensity of ultimate reality and the trans-categoriality of the divine put into relative perspective any absolutist doctrine that claims to process the whole truth." Adrienne Nicholson In an increasingly interconnected world, the discourse surrounding religious pluralism has become more pertinent than ever. Adrienne Nicholson's assertion that "True pluralism focuses on the understanding of religion within the socio-historic context of its culture" serves as a poignant reminder that our perceptions of the divine are often shaped by the societal and historical contexts in which we find ourselves. This understanding invites us to reframe o...

  Beyond Boundaries: Mysticism, Process Thought, and the Limits of Religious Difference Adis Duderija " it should be mentioned that differences within a particular religious tradition are often as great as differences between such traditions. Hartshorne, for example, finds one strand of Vedantism in Sri Jiva Goswami more congenial than classical theistic strands in the Abrahamic religions. Or again, Jewish or Christian process thinkers might find the process thought of Mohammed Iqbal more congenial than the thought of classical theistic thinkers in their own respective religious traditions. Further, it seems to me that there is a certain unity in the reports of mystical experiences once adventitious elements from different traditions are removed from them, as Hartshorne (who was once invited to speak at a Trappist monastery) attests." D. Dombrowski, Process Mysticism, p.5 Public debates about religion often proceed as if religious traditions were internally unified, sharply ...