Islam and the Challenge of Democracy: A Boston Review Book
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Islam and the Challenge of Democracy: A Boston Review Book
By (Author) Khaled Abou El Fadl
Edited by Joshua Cohen
Edited by Deborah Chasman
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
8th June 2004
United States
Classifications
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
Social groups: religious groups and communities
Political ideologies and movements
297.272
Physical Properties
Paperback
144
Width 140mm, Height 216mm
170g
Description
The events of September 11 and the subsequent war on terrorism have provoked widespread discussion about the possibility of democracy in the Islamic world. Such topics as the meaning of jihad, the role of clerics as authoritative interpreters, and the place of human rights and toleration in Islam have become subjects of urgent public debate around the world. With few exceptions, however, this debate has proceeded in isolation from the vibrant traditions of argument within Islamic theology, philosophy, and law. Islam and the Challenge of Democracy aims to correct this deficiency. he book engages the reader in a rich discourse on the challenges of democracy in contemporary Islam. The collection begins with a lead essay by Khaled Abou El Fadl, who argues that democracy, especially a constitutional democracy that protects basic individual rights, is the form of government best suited to promoting a set of social and political values central to Islam. Because Islam is about submission to God and about each individual's responsibility to serve as His agent on Earth. Abou El Fadl argues, there is no place for the subjugation to human authority demanded by authoritarian regimes.
Reviews
"What El Fadl achieves in his short book is noteworthy primarily because he brings the concept of democracy home, literally, for the world's Muslims. By giving democracy a technical and legal basis in Islamic law, El Fadl provides it with a certificate of authentication that secular writers ... cannot."--Bezalel Stern, The Jerusalem Post "In a just world, Khaled Abou El Fadl would get as much publicity as Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Bin Laden and Zarqawi blow up buildings and slaughter fellow Muslims. Abou El Fadl blows up everything those two terrorists supposedly believe in."--Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer
Author Bio
Khaled Abou El Fadl is Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law. His recent books include "The Place of Tolerance in Islam". Joshua Cohen is the Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of the Humanities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and coeditor of the "Boston Review". Deborah Chasman is coeditor of the "Boston Review".
