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
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
“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
