The modern world is rapidly changing, with transformations that affect all facets of life including family, the economy, the environment, war, politics, and religion. Understanding how the world operates allows us to take ownership of who we are, why we think the things we do, and why we do the things we do. Failing to understand modernity is like being the passenger in a car, … Continue reading Traversing Tradition: Exploring the Foundations
Defining “ideology” is a burdensome feat, as the term is used in a plethora of diverse contexts. Friedrich Engels, a prominent German philosopher, used the term to refer to abstract ideas that were independent of tangible existence. Later, Marxists described it as a malicious veil blinding the masses to the reality of their exploitation. Ultramodern colloquial usage takes a simpler approach by imposing the term … Continue reading Ideology and Globalization
When Islamic law is discussed, particularly in a polemical context, it is usually evaluated from either a moral or a practical angle. Those who espouse its virtues tend to say something along the lines of: God, being our creator, deserves our obedience (aka, a moral argument); and His ordinances are best attuned to human nature (aka, a practical observation). Very rarely are purely aesthetic considerations … Continue reading The Aesthetics of Islamic Law
I’ve spent the past few months in perplexed introspection. I’ve been reflecting on the fact that cognitive scientists have gathered a tremendous amount of evidence that suggests that the language(s) we speak changes not only how we see the world, but also who we fundamentally are. Language influences our values and shapes how we code our experiences [1,2]. Knowing this, I’ve questioned how much of … Continue reading Could English be an Islamic Language?
The modern era, with the ethical conundrums it bears, understandably causes people to search for answers that speak to their present condition. To this end, countless new movements have appeared laying claim to “true” Islam. Qur’anists, Perennialists, Qadianis, Progressives, and various new political movements are but a subset of this phenomenon. Most of these groups market themselves as either a “revival” or “reformation” of Islam … Continue reading The Incoherence of Modern Reformists
A person thrust into a new environment first scans their surroundings for danger. As such, they have a heightened attention to detail, a cautiousness of the phenomena occuring around them, and an awareness of the effects on their person. However, if raised from birth in a particular world, the nature of their environment and its effects would remain unseen, for it has always been there, … Continue reading The Death of Community and the Rise of Individualism
The Qur’an was revealed by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel) to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave of Hira. The Angel Jibril began with the injunction, “Read.” It was this word that would be the very first of the divine revelation revealed to the Prophet ﷺ and one that would define our attitude towards knowledge and excellence in study thereafter. Islamic civilisation prided itself on being … Continue reading Harnessing the Pioneer Spirit of the Muslim
As a young woman, I was attracted to the language of equality and social justice and felt compelled to take a position in the feminism debate. “How could anyone support inequality or injustice?”, feminists would accusatorily ask. “Stand on the right side of history,” they’d say, presenting feminism as the default position, a fait accompli that I needed only approve. However, after I examined the … Continue reading Striking the Balance: Between Feminism and Anti-Feminism
It is often said that the antidote to the Muslim world’s malaise is the establishing of an all-embracing Caliphate: all territories populated by Muslims bound under a centralised institution whose dictates would govern every corner of the empire, bolstered through communications technology and greater levels of coercion that the modern state has access to. Common perceptions of the Caliphate and how it could materialize are … Continue reading Why Culture Matters to the Islamic Revival
We need to change the direction of Islam in the west, and the way to change it is to bring it from a level of action to a level of intellectualism. Thus did Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, the eminent scholar from Syria, articulate the scarcity of proper religious knowledge in the activist sphere. He continued to describe the result of such spiritual destitution by identifying the … Continue reading An Admonishment to the Muslim Activist
