Bücher von Khaled Abou El Fadl

Praise for The Prophet's Pulpit: Commentaries on the State of Islam, Volume I"In this volume, one of the most gifted and influential Muslim scholars of our time critically examines the contemporary state of Islam, offering a set of inspirational meditations on its essential, but neglected, teachings. The result is profound, powerful, and transformative. This is a must-read."Ziba Mir-Hosseini, author of Journeys Toward Gender Equality in Islam"The Prophet's Pulpit represents a courageous witness to our time's most pertinent injustices...Khaled Abou El Fadl is one of the few remaining scholars to deploy his pen and pulpit in service of the lowly, the wretched, and the oppressed. More than ever, the Prophetic message of universal justice and beauty must ring louder than the mainstream resignation to a morally weak and quietist Islam." Farah El-Sharif, Associate Director, Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford University"If you crave an Islam that speaks to every part of your life, that speaks to you as a living, thinking, loving, struggling, questioning person in the here and now, seeking affirmation of one's purpose in this complex, beautiful, brutal world, this is the book for you." Randa Abdel-Fattah, author of Coming of Age in the War on TerrorIn this collection of twenty-five Islamic sermons, Khaled Abou El Fadl, distinguished law professor and classically trained Islamic jurist, delivers incisive commentaries on the current state of Islam and the Muslim world from the symbolic pulpit of the Prophet of Islam. Part Qur'anic exegesis and part socio-ethical commentary, this second volume to the series expands upon the learning from Volume I and adds new sections that delve into current themes of racism, power, dignity, and raising Muslim youth.

Khaled Abou El Fadl, a prominent critic of Islamic puritanism, leads off this lively debate by arguing that Islam is a deeply tolerant religion. Injunctions to violence against nonbelievers stem from misreadings of the Qur'an, he claims, and even jihad, or so-called holy war, has no basis in Qur'anic text or Muslim theology but instead grew out of social and political conflict.Many of Abou El Fadl's respondents think differently. Some contend that his brand of Islam will only appeal to Westerners and students in "e;liberal divinity schools"e; and that serious religious dialogue in the Muslim world requires dramatic political reforms. Other respondents argue that theological debates are irrelevant and that our focus should be on Western sabotage of such reforms. Still others argue that calls for Islamic "e;tolerance"e; betray the Qur'anic injunction for Muslims to struggle against their oppressors.The debate underscores an enduring challenge posed by religious morality in a pluralistic age: how can we preserve deep religious conviction while participating in what Abou El Fadl calls "e;a collective enterprise of goodness"e; that cuts across confessional differences?With contributions from Tariq Ali, Milton Viorst, and John Esposito, and others.

In Reasoning with God, renowned Islamic scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl explores the role of Shari`ah in today's world, for both Muslims and non-Muslims. After a prologue that explains Shari`ah in depth, Abou El Fadl wrestles with the moral trajectory of contemporary Islam and highlights the way Shari`ah can revitalize and reengage Islam today.

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. The 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. The lead essay is followed by eleven others from internationally respected specialists in democracy and religion. They address, challenge, and engage Abou El Fadl's work. The contributors include John Esposito, Muhammad Fadel, Noah Feldman, Nader Hashemi, Bernard Haykel, Muqtedar Khan, Saba Mahmood, David Novak, William Quandt, Kevin Reinhart, and Jeremy Waldron.

This challenging book reviews the ethical foundations of the Islamic legal system, suggesting that an authoritarian reading of scripture has often had grave consequences for parts of Muslim society. Drawing upon both religious and secular sources, Islamic legal expert Khaled Abou El Fadl argues that divinely ordained law is frequently misinterpreted by Muslim authorities at the expense of women and oth er groups. Citing a series of injustices in Islamic society, from the ban on women driving to the restrictions governing female clothing, El Fadl's thoughtful and cogent study proposes instead a return to the original ethics at the heart of the Muslim legal system.