I thought Tariq Ramadan's introduction was particularly interesting in light of Qutb's writings about Islam. The idea of reforming Islam in a way that does not undermine it (i.e. not a Western way of reforming Islam) provides an insight into an alternative way of thinking. While Qutb has been so influential for extremist groups, Ramadan's writings provide another answer to modernization and the changing world.
I thought Ramadan's attention to the problems with Western (or Christian) thought being imposed on Islam was particularly striking, and significant. It is true, that Islamic reform cannot, and really should not take the form of Christian periods of reform such as the Reformation or the Vatican II (14). Ramadan's point that this is an attempt to import Christian experience on to Islamic experience is important, I feel. The rejection of these ideas by the Muslim people is only logical, as the idea of asserting Christian history onto the Muslim tradition is completely absurd.
Instead, Ramadan attempts to outline how reform itself has been present in Islamic culture. I really enjoyed how he explored how change could fit into the Muslim understanding of their own religion, without turning to Western examples. While he recognizes that Islam has been in a time of crisis (29), he also argues that Islam can revive itself by staying true to tradition. As he says, "adapting does not - or does not necessarily - mean questioning, criticizing, or challenging" (33). I find his assertion that the resistance to self-criticism and renewal stems from a lack of self-confidence (36). This seems to fit well with the psychological aspects of fundamentalism I am exploring in my paper.
In general, I thought it was interesting to see a juxtaposition to Qutb's writings. Milestones reaches such an extreme in comparison to A Child From the Village. The call to revert to traditional Islam, but a selective and specific view of traditional Islam, that Qutb holds does not seem as logical as Ramadan's call to look at reform using traditional Islamic values.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Milestones: Chapters 1 and 2
Chapter 1 of Milestones focuses on the uniqueness of the Qur'anic Generation. Similar to writings Qutb had on the Qur'an, he discusses at great lengths the importance of the Qur'an, and how it was specifically sent for the Islamic population. He also talks about the purpose of the Prophet, and how Muhammad had specific instructions that were all part of God's plan, and not therefore not to be fully comprehended by the common people.
Qutb also discusses that the Qur'an came down in installments in order to address the needs of the people at the time, which I thought was particularly interesting. The idea that the Qur'an grew with the needs of the people is an enlightening way of understanding how the Qur'an formed.
In the second Chapter Qutb expands his views on the Qur'an. He discusses the Meccan portion of the Qur'an, and how it was formed to address the big question of faith, and how people should relate to God. He discusses how Islam is practical, and when practiced corretly will reflect the needs of the people.
One part of the Chapter that interested me was Qutb's metaphor of religion as a tree. His discussion of religion as a tree that extends to all aspects of life, and provides order and strength. The analogy of the roots of the tree is also an interesting reference to traditionalism.
Qutb also discusses that the Qur'an came down in installments in order to address the needs of the people at the time, which I thought was particularly interesting. The idea that the Qur'an grew with the needs of the people is an enlightening way of understanding how the Qur'an formed.
In the second Chapter Qutb expands his views on the Qur'an. He discusses the Meccan portion of the Qur'an, and how it was formed to address the big question of faith, and how people should relate to God. He discusses how Islam is practical, and when practiced corretly will reflect the needs of the people.
One part of the Chapter that interested me was Qutb's metaphor of religion as a tree. His discussion of religion as a tree that extends to all aspects of life, and provides order and strength. The analogy of the roots of the tree is also an interesting reference to traditionalism.
Milestones: Introduction
The introduction to Sayyid Qutb's Milestones is an interesting transition from the Qur'an commentary. The introduction definitely starts as sort of "call to action" in response to the lack of values of humanity. As he says "the turn of the Islam and the Muslim community has arrived," he is clearly calling for a specific call to action that is more direct than his past writings.
Milestones also has a more fundamentalist tone to it - Qutb uses phrases like "it is neccessary that the Muslim community be restored to its original form" that call for a return to a more traditional and fundamentalist form of Islam.
I thought it was interesting that the last part of the introduction discussed that the first few chapters stem from the Qur'an commentary, but were reworked for Milestones.
Milestones also has a more fundamentalist tone to it - Qutb uses phrases like "it is neccessary that the Muslim community be restored to its original form" that call for a return to a more traditional and fundamentalist form of Islam.
I thought it was interesting that the last part of the introduction discussed that the first few chapters stem from the Qur'an commentary, but were reworked for Milestones.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Religious Fundamentalism: Peter Herriot
In reading Peter Herriot's Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal, (I admit I have not finished it), Herriot provides a lot of interesting insight into the formation and development of fundamentalist ideas and movements. By examining different fundamentalisms from around the world, Herriot comes up with 5 main features of fundamentalisms (reactive, dualist, importance of a holy book, reading of the holy book is selective, and the belief that God to fully establish His rule over the world in the future). He also stresses that fundamentalism is a twentieth century idea, as fundamentalisms are reactions against modernity.
Most interestingly, Herriot discusses the development of the self, and how in order to fully function in a fundamentalist organization, an individual must fully identity with the fundamentalist group. From this, a group or social identity is more important than an individual identity. This is necessary in order to have complete dedication to the group's cause, as well as to build up the individual's self-esteem that their actions are morally correct. From here, Herriot analyzes Sayyid Qutb as a case study, and shows that throughout Qutb's writings, one can trace a growing sense of group identity (as a believing Muslim) and less on his individual identity (as a successful scholar and teacher in Cairo). This change, especially marked by Qutb's visit to the U.S., caused a change in the way Qutb viewed Islam, particularly in his writings about jahiliyyah. The more Qutb discusses jahiliyyah and the more he identified it as a group aim, the more fundamentalist his writings became.
Most interestingly, Herriot discusses the development of the self, and how in order to fully function in a fundamentalist organization, an individual must fully identity with the fundamentalist group. From this, a group or social identity is more important than an individual identity. This is necessary in order to have complete dedication to the group's cause, as well as to build up the individual's self-esteem that their actions are morally correct. From here, Herriot analyzes Sayyid Qutb as a case study, and shows that throughout Qutb's writings, one can trace a growing sense of group identity (as a believing Muslim) and less on his individual identity (as a successful scholar and teacher in Cairo). This change, especially marked by Qutb's visit to the U.S., caused a change in the way Qutb viewed Islam, particularly in his writings about jahiliyyah. The more Qutb discusses jahiliyyah and the more he identified it as a group aim, the more fundamentalist his writings became.
The America I Have Seen (1951)
Qutb's thoughts on American culture are fascinating. As this article was written for a magazine, Qutb candidly describes encounters he had throughout his time in Greeley, Colorado that provide great insight into how he formed his opinions of the West, and the United States in particular.
The culture clash is very evident in Qutb's writings. His descriptions of Americans are greedy and animalistic are easily explained by his reactions to things such as his views of science as a substitute for religion and the game of football. I particularly liked his commentaries about football. The way he describes the sport certainly does make it seem absurd...
I also thought his writings about churches was interesting. The fact that he joined a church because "it was an important part of the culture" was intriguing. I thought his comments on the priest were very entertaining. There are certainly clear differences between the American church and the mosques in Egypt. Here, the separation of church and state seems to cause many problems for him, as the churches need to "sell themselves" in order to gain the more members than other churches in the area.
Overall, Qutb's writings provide an outsiders prospective on American culture, that show why he has such a violent reaction against the West.
The culture clash is very evident in Qutb's writings. His descriptions of Americans are greedy and animalistic are easily explained by his reactions to things such as his views of science as a substitute for religion and the game of football. I particularly liked his commentaries about football. The way he describes the sport certainly does make it seem absurd...
I also thought his writings about churches was interesting. The fact that he joined a church because "it was an important part of the culture" was intriguing. I thought his comments on the priest were very entertaining. There are certainly clear differences between the American church and the mosques in Egypt. Here, the separation of church and state seems to cause many problems for him, as the churches need to "sell themselves" in order to gain the more members than other churches in the area.
Overall, Qutb's writings provide an outsiders prospective on American culture, that show why he has such a violent reaction against the West.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Al-Tabari
The commentary by Al-Tabari is set up in a very different manner from Qutb's In the Shade of the Qur'an. Al-Tabari's commentary was harder for me to follow, which probably makes sense from the time period it was written from, as I assume that Qutb's commentary is more modern. Qutb's commentary also separates the Arabic from his writing, which was probably a decision made by the translator to make it more acceptable for english speaking readers.
I thought it was interesting that the commentary by Al-Tabari included numerous opinions and interpretations, which differed from Qutb's rigid interpretation of the Sura's importance and meanings. Qutb's commentary does echo a more fundamentalist look at the Quranic verses, as there is really no room for multiple interpretations and opinions. However, the commentaries are similar in that they both take short verses, and have lengthy interpretations of the meanings and importance.
I thought it was interesting that the commentary by Al-Tabari included numerous opinions and interpretations, which differed from Qutb's rigid interpretation of the Sura's importance and meanings. Qutb's commentary does echo a more fundamentalist look at the Quranic verses, as there is really no room for multiple interpretations and opinions. However, the commentaries are similar in that they both take short verses, and have lengthy interpretations of the meanings and importance.
This is exciting....
This has nothing to do with our reading this week, but I am so excited that I'm going to blog about it anyway.
For my senior capstone in the psychology department, I am studying how the motives for religious fundamentalism can be understood psychologically. For this project, I ordered a book called Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal by Peter Herriot. In this work he writes up a case study about Sayyid Qutb! Of course, I read this chapter first even though it comes about half way through the work, and I am really excited about what I found.
First of all, Herriot discusses Qutb's role in the Muslim Brotherhood, and provides interesting details, such as the fact that Qutb served as head of the Brotherhood's propaganda department. Herriot goes at great length to explain Qutb's ideas about jahilyahh and how this affected why people felt compelled to follow him.
However, my most exciting find from this chapter about Qutb is that Herriot cites an article written by Qutb called "The America I Have Seen" (1951) about his time in the United States. From this, I went on google and found his writings on his trip to America!!
They can be found at:
http://www.bandung2.co.uk/books/Files/Education/
The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen
%20-%20Sayyid%20Qutb.pdf
I'm excited.
For my senior capstone in the psychology department, I am studying how the motives for religious fundamentalism can be understood psychologically. For this project, I ordered a book called Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal by Peter Herriot. In this work he writes up a case study about Sayyid Qutb! Of course, I read this chapter first even though it comes about half way through the work, and I am really excited about what I found.
First of all, Herriot discusses Qutb's role in the Muslim Brotherhood, and provides interesting details, such as the fact that Qutb served as head of the Brotherhood's propaganda department. Herriot goes at great length to explain Qutb's ideas about jahilyahh and how this affected why people felt compelled to follow him.
However, my most exciting find from this chapter about Qutb is that Herriot cites an article written by Qutb called "The America I Have Seen" (1951) about his time in the United States. From this, I went on google and found his writings on his trip to America!!
They can be found at:
http://www.bandung2.co.uk/books/Files/Education/
The%20America%20I%20Have%20Seen
%20-%20Sayyid%20Qutb.pdf
I'm excited.
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