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

  On the Concept of a   (Woman)   Saint     Adis Duderija   What comes to mind when we hear the phrase woman saint? For many, the image is almost predetermined: a figure of purity, obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice. She is patient under suffering, submissive to authority, and detached from worldly ambition. Such qualities may indeed characterize some women recognized as saints. Yet, as Robert Ellsberg perceptively observes, these conventional portraits often tell us as much about the expectations of those who wrote the stories as they do about the women themselves.   The history of sainthood has largely been written by men, shaped by institutions dominated by male religious authorities. As a result, women saints have frequently been celebrated for embodying virtues deemed appropriately feminine while other traits have been minimized or ignored. Courage becomes obedience. Leadership becomes service. Intellectual brilliance becomes pi...

 The Poverty of a Worldview Without Imagination Adis Duderija One of the clearest signs that a worldview has become spiritually, aesthetically, and ethically deficient is its inability to make room for imagination, creativity, and genuine novelty. Such a worldview may appear strong, certain, and orderly. It may promise stability and protection from ambiguity. Yet beneath its surface lies a deep poverty of spirit. It reduces the richness of human existence to repetition, conformity, and control. In doing so, it undermines some of the very qualities that make human life meaningful and flourishing. Imagination is often misunderstood as a form of escapism, a retreat from reality into fantasy. In fact, imagination is one of the most profound ways humans engage reality. It allows us to envision possibilities that do not yet exist, to empathize with lives different from our own, and to perceive dimensions of the world that routine habits obscure. Every social reform, scientific breakthrou...

  Response to the Australian Government’s Response to the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Report   Adis Duderija I welcome the Australian Government’sresponse to the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia and its recognition that anti-Muslim prejudice undermines social cohesion, democratic citizenship, and the wellbeing of Muslim Australians. The initiatives relating to education, community resilience, interfaith engagement, and improved reporting mechanisms are important steps towards addressing anti-Muslim discrimination and ensuring that Muslim Australians feel safe and valued members of our society. However, successfully combating Islamophobia requires more than increasing awareness of Muslims as a minority community. It also requires challenging the underlying assumptions that often sustain anti-Muslim prejudice. One of the most persistent drivers of Islamophobia is the tendency to portray Islam as a monolithic religious tradition defined primarily by its most ...