Ibraheem Ali
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Towards An Islamic Theory of Culture Part III: It Starts and Ends With Tawḥīd
The theocentricity of Islam is distinguished from other faith traditions through the principle of tawḥīd (absolute monotheism). Faruqi argues that tawḥīd is not merely a tenet of creed, but also a philosophical foundation. All matters of a Muslim’s life, his belief, spiritual and social obligations, are all in service of tawḥīd. When taking Islam as…
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Exhale
Breathe. Gather the winds and make them plead, Bring cirrus, stratus, and nimbus into thee, Breathe. Until thy lungs are ruptured and sore, Stoke the fire in thy belly, make it roar, Breathe. And leave no room for doubt, Breathe with certainty inside and out, And bring the heavens to a halt in one clean…
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Towards An Islamic Theory of Culture Part II: On Islamicates and Third Ways
The modern history of the Balkans region presents a great analogy for the West’s anxieties towards the Islamic world, an uncanny image of an Islamic heritage which the heirs of Christendom wished to forget. From the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s, through to the rise and fall of Yugoslavia such an image…
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Towards An Islamic Theory of Culture Part I: On Culture & The West
While the term “cultural studies” would not emerge as a distinguished academic discipline until the 1960s (with the establishment of the Centre for Cultural Studies in Birmingham), culture as an aspect of social life was first given serious consideration in the nineteenth century. During this period, many of the thinkers occupying the academic sphere of…
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The Brothers Barbarossa
“Have at thee, Crusader scum!” he roared, slashing violently at his foe with an abdominal strike. “Die, villain!” spat the other as he parried the attack.
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A Night at Topkapi Palace
The skies were stricken with a cacophony of arresting fiery hues growing brighter at the horizon’s edge. It was like watching a comet frozen in place as it scaled the heavens with a lingering trail of warm light. The whole court glared eagerly at the sun that refused to set and make way for the quenching cobalt…
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Tomorrow
“The world is but three days: As for yesterday, it has vanished. As for tomorrow, you may never see it. As for today, it is yours, so work on it.” – Imam Hasan Al Basri Tomorrow is a traitor full of deceit, who promises the hopeful an epitaph sweet, it swears that our troubles can…
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To Arrakis and Back: Frank Herbert’s Dune in Retrospect
It’s not uncommon to hear Herbert’s name alongside other pioneers in modern genre fiction, the likes of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis. The book, however, is not lauded on all fronts. It has its critics as well as its fans and even so, much of what people tend to enjoy about the novel has to…
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The Schizophrenic Tongue of Liberty
One could go on about the double standards and inconsistencies of liberal ideals of free speech till judgment day. Time and again, the discussion around free speech proves to be fruitless and the romanticized notion of the subject is ever vapid and shallow.
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Parables from Plymouth Rock: A Book Review of “Liberty’s Jihad” by Munawar Ali Karim
The book in question is prefaced with what could be described as a defiance of Barthesian attitudes towards literature (i.e. an irreverence towards authorial intentions and context) . The author audaciously suggests the order in which he would like his book to be read. Such direction might seem archaic in an era in which authorial…