Tag: islam

Politics

I Welcome the Overturning of Roe, But There are Problems

As a Muslim woman, I welcome the overturning of Roe v. Wade. However, there are two glaring problems that I believe Muslims must address. Just as there were un-Islamic ideological premises that guided court to Roe, overturning it returns the question of moral and legal status of abortion to states who still fail to reckon with abortion adequately or provide economic and social support to families Continue reading I Welcome the Overturning of Roe, But There are Problems

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment
Politics

India’s Hijab Ban: Limits of the Democratic Constitutional Order

In March of 2022, the Indian High Court in Karnataka upheld the government ban on Hijab in schools as constitutional. The Hijab ban, petitioned (largely) by Indian female students, was implemented as a government order to ban religious clothing in schools (targeting Muslim minorities in particular). In response, Muslim women passionately defended their presupposed constitutional and religious right to wear the Hijab (under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution), culminating in a long-form legal and social onslaught of petitions and protests. Yet, until the Supreme Court rules on the issue, the High Court’s ruling will remain the definitive answer to the question: Was the Hijab ban unconstitutional? In March of 2022, the Indian High Court in Karnataka upheld the government ban on Hijab in schools as constitutional. The Hijab ban, petitioned (largely) by Indian female students, was implemented as a government order to ban religious clothing in schools (targeting Muslim minorities in particular). In response, Muslim women passionately defended their presupposed constitutional and religious right to wear the Hijab (under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution), culminating in a long-form legal and social onslaught of petitions and protests. Yet, until the Supreme Court rules on the issue, the High Court’s ruling will remain the definitive answer to the question: Was the Hijab ban unconstitutional?  Continue reading India’s Hijab Ban: Limits of the Democratic Constitutional Order

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment
Philosophy

A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part III: The Reign of Quantity

In the previous part, the notion of what I call ontological apathy was explored, which occurs when the reality of our place as humans in relation to God and nature is dissolved. In the worldview of Islām, we operate with the hierarchy of “ontology-epistemology-axiology-politics-economics,” and I have asserted that in the modern West, this hierarchy is inverted and thus it moves in the opposite direction, “economics-politics-axiology-epistemology-ontology,” which is what we will examine in more detail. Continue reading A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part III: The Reign of Quantity

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment
Philosophy

A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part II: Ontological Apathy

This article is part two of a series, you can find the part one here and part three here .  In the last part, we established how the Islāmic civilization is built on a worldview that deems ontology as the highest determinative factor. This ontology, or pure metaphysics as Guénon calls it, concerns the Ultimate Reality, Allāh, and how everything else is contingent upon Him. … Continue reading A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part II: Ontological Apathy

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment
Philosophy

A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part I: Inversion

How do we make sense of reality? This is inarguably the most difficult question one can pose because it amounts to giving an explanation of everything. Even if we concede to the Heideggerian claim that metaphysics is inevitably nihilism, nihilism’s fundamental claim that there is no such thing as reality does constitute itself as an explanation of everything (which to them is nothing!) regardless of whether we agree or disagree with it. Continue reading A Study of Worldviews: Islām and the Modern West, Part I: Inversion

Traversing Tradition1 Comment
Society & Culture

Engaging in the Abortion Debate: Considerations for Muslims in the West

In light of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, American Muslims are increasingly engaged in the abortion debate, yet their contributions thus far consist of little more than superficial claims to shari’a. There remain significant chasms and oversights in our understanding, ranging from the exact scope of Roe v. Wade to seriously grappling with the question of abortion as a moral question. What is most often ignored is the clear imperative that before arriving at a position on abortion rooted in sacred law, we must acknowledge the moral premises of an Islamic worldview. Continue reading Engaging in the Abortion Debate: Considerations for Muslims in the West

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment
Philosophy

Differences in Approaching History Between Reform Oriented and Traditionalist Muslims

Contemporary rifts between reform oriented and traditionalist Muslims might be traced back to differences in their respective philosophies on the progress of history. By first examining the three most prominent enlightenment philosophies of history, which share much in common, and then contrasting them with pre-modern philosophies of history, I will lead us to the possible formulation of an Islamic philosophy of history.  Continue reading Differences in Approaching History Between Reform Oriented and Traditionalist Muslims

Traversing Tradition2 Comments
Philosophy

Quranic Soundscapes: Bonding Beyond the Meanings

God has arranged the human heart like a fiery stone: its warmth inspires the soul to a new state. Its aesthetic world of sublime inner echoes is called the world of consciousness. The recitation of the Holy Qur’an touches the hearts of its readers in this way. The wonderful supernatural power of the Qur’an is that it removes the worries of the mind and gives comfort to the soul. The Qur’an affects human life through more than its textual meanings. In this article, I refute arguments that discourage reciting the Quran without knowing its meaning. Continue reading Quranic Soundscapes: Bonding Beyond the Meanings

Traversing Tradition1 Comment
Philosophy

Reclaiming the Question

You wake up one day to find yourself in an ornate and decorated room. You have no recollection of who you are or how you got there. From the moment you are conscious, you are beset by a relentless curiosity: Who am I? Why am I here? You are attempting to make sense of the situation that you find yourself in. The aim of this metaphor is to illustrate an elemental fact: as humans, we find ourselves in an existential situation. We find ourselves participating in a reality – the cosmos – that is not our own making. We are, as Martin Heidegger put it, thrown into the world. As such, we are essentially constituted by a dynamic consciousness that is driven towards meaning in order to obtain insight into reality and its ultimate grounds. The search for ultimate grounds emerges because as humans, although we have a number of concerns (e.g., familial, financial, political, etc.), our ultimate concern is, and ought-to be, our existential situation that is embodied in two questions: where-from? And, where-to? Continue reading Reclaiming the Question

Traversing TraditionLeave a comment