18. January 2017

A bill requiring the U.S. State Department to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a "foreign terrorist organization" is very likely to become law in the coming days. Senator Ted Cruz, one of the sponsors of the law, stated in a press release that the Brotherhood "espouses a violent Islamist ideology with a mission of destroying the West." In the same press release, Cruz cited to what is known as the "civilization jihad" memorandum - a document in which he accuses American Muslim organizations such...

01. August 2016

By Khaled Abou El Fadl I recall watching the Republican 2011 debates on Shari'a and Islam with a smouldering sense of frustration. Questions like "Would you appoint a Muslim to your cabinet?" seemed surreal in the country whose founding fathers generated the Federalist papers, leave alone the Independence Declaration or the U.S. Constitution. Listening to the latest round of Republication pontifications on Shari'a and Islam in 2016 transformed the smouldering frustration to indignation and...

16. May 2011

Despite its popularity among some intellectuals today, the "clash of civilizations" thesis is sufficiently fraught with methodological problems that it ought to be considered a serious hindrance to developing a genuine understanding of the contemporary Islamic realities. I do not contest the possibility that the idea of civilization could be a distinctive, and even at times helpful, concept. For the sake of argument, I assume that particular values and norms might be sufficiently distinctive...

01. July 2005

By Khaled Abou El Fadl Since the early 1980’s commentators have been arguing that Islam is suffering a crisis of identity, and that the crumbling of the Islamic civilization in the modern age has left Muslims with a profound sense of alienation and injury. Challenges confronting Muslim nations such as the failure of development projects, the entrenchment of authoritarian regimes, and the inability to respond effectively to Israeli belligerence have induced deep-seated feelings of frustration...

28. October 2003

By Khaled Abou El Fadl* The Significance of 9/11 and Orphans of Modernity Several years ago, I remember seeing a picture of Bin Laden that ominously foretold the tragedy that would come in 9/11. The picture showed Bin Laden, with his typical slothful and even indifferent look, sitting gripping his Kalashinkov with neatly organized and impressive looking books filling the background. What caught my attention in this picture were the titles of books. With the help of a magnifying glass, I was...

01. March 2002

BY KHALED ABOU EL FADL Several years ago, I remember seeing a picture of Osama bin Laden that ominously foretold the tragedy that would come on 11 September. The picture showed bin Laden, with his typical slothful and even indifferent look, sitting while gripping his Kalashnikov with neatly organised and impressive looking books filling the background. What caught my attention in this picture were the titles of these books. With the help of a magnifying glass, I was able to figure out the...

01. December 2001

by Khaled Abou El Fadl Since the early 1980s, commentators have argued that Islam is suffering a crisis of identity, as the crumbling of Islamic civilization in the modern age has left Muslims with a profound sense of alienation and injury. Challenges confronting Muslim nations -- failures of development projects, entrenched authoritarian regimes and the inability to respond effectively to Israeli belligerence -- have induced deep-seated frustration and anger that, in turn, contributed to the...