19. February 2014

By Khaled Abou El Fadl ABSTRACT In this article, I set forth conceptions of happiness (sa‘ada) from the Islamic tradition, and against this background, I discuss the failure to attain happiness in the modern age. The cumulative Islamic tradition attests to the importance of happiness to faith in God, and to the importance of faith to happiness. While the themes of knowledge, enlightenment, balance, peace, and knowing the other are central to the Islamic theology of happiness, the failure of...

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...