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Democracy and the Muslim Countries

The relation between the religion of Islam and politics is hot topic that got even hotter after September 11. Sometime ago The Freedom House Organization issued an alarming report about democracy in Muslim countries. The question is: Is it Islam as a religion that is against democracy? or the fact that most of Muslim countries are dictatorships for historical / political reasons and religion is not a direct factor?

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Hoax: Salafist female genital mutilation for a cat إجراء عملية ختان لقطة على يد سلفيات؟

من الصعب تصديق هذه الواقعة ويبدوا أنها مزيفة للسخرية من السلفيين ودعوتهم لختان الإناث. وصعوبة تصديق صحة الواقعة ليس سببه أنه هناك حدود للرجعية والتخلف الفكري ولكن لعدم انتشار ثقافة التجارب العلمية عند الفكر السلفي الذي يغلب عليه مبادئ مقيدة للإبداع العقلي والعلمي مثل النقل قبل العقل ولا اجتهاد مع نص وحديث ضعيف أفضل من … Read more

Addressing Samuel Huntington, is it really a clash of civilizations?

digitally edited from a photo I took of Huntington in 2002

In 2002 I attended a discussion session with Huntington in NYC during the WEF meeting about bridging civilizations. On a distinct note, Samuel Huntington, said that there are indeed real differences in values and cultures among civilizations. The idea of a bridge, as suggested in the title of the session, implies there is something separating them. The issue is whether this is a “bridge over a chasm, a wide ocean, a changing stream or what?” He is not sure of the answer, but he is certain that differences exist, although they need not lead to clashes among civilizations. Another interesting issue, he noted, is the role of modernization in cultural exchange. In response to criticisms that his book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Reality of World Order, dwelled on the clashes between Islamic and Western values and ignored the conflicts between Christian groups such as those in Northern Ireland, Huntington claimed that the clashes between Protestants and Catholics do not carry the same potential threat to world peace.

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مفهوم الدولة بين الشريعة الإسلامية والعلمانية

هل العلمانية مفهوم مضاد للشريعة الإسلامية؟ سؤال طرح للنقاش ضمن فعاليات مؤتمر الكنيسة الإنجيلية بهانوفر يوم الخميس 26 مايو/أيار الماضي. نقاط مثيرة ناقشها الحاضرون تركزت على موقف الإسلام والمسيحية من فصل الدين عن الدولة. يُعد موقف الإسلام من الدولة العلمانية بمعناها المتعارف عليه ـ فصل الدين عن الدولة ـ من أكثر المواضيع نقاشا وبحثا في … Read more

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