Islamism’s turning point

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 11:59:00 +0000

Many of the intellectuals and researchers who have studied the Muslim majority societies have spoken of “Islams” to underscore the diversity of religious observance. However, the label is problematic religiously, and also in terms of what is subsumed by the notion of “Islamic civilization” itself. As Arab and Muslim societies have entered a phase of renewal, it is important to understand how unity and diversity function within the Islamic reference.

By way of prelude, in the body of Islamic teachings and prescriptions, there are certain source texts upon which all Muslims agree, be they Sunni or Shiite, Eastern or Western. Islam’s two scriptural sources (the Qur’an and the Prophetic tradition — the Sunna) are recognized by all schools of thought and constitute the bedrock of Islamic belief. From these sources a number of principles and practices have been extracted and categorized, and they constitute the core of Islamic teachings, upon which all traditions and schools of jurisprudence agree: the six pillars of faith (arkân al-imân) that constitute the creed (al-aqîda) and the five pillars of Islam (arkân al-islâm) that detail the rituals (‘ibadât: prayer, fasting, etc.). Taken together, these elements, along with obligations and prohibitions (regarding food, drink, behavior, etc.), represent the core of Islam for all the world’s Muslims: it is thus entirely legitimate to speak of one Islam on the primary religious level.

Salon.com > Tariq Ramadan

Islamism’s turning point