Papers by Sayed Hassan Akhlaq
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations
This book seeks to elucidate the concept of justice, not so much as it is expressed in law courts... more This book seeks to elucidate the concept of justice, not so much as it is expressed in law courts (retributive and procedural justice) or in state budgets (distributive justice), but as primary justice – what it means and how it can be grounded in the inalienable rights that each human being possesses qua human being. It draws inspiration from two recent works of philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff, but also from the groundbreaking Islamic initiative of 2007, the Common Word Letter addressed by 138 eminent Muslim scholars and clerics to the Pope and all Christian leaders. This document affirmed that the two highest commandments in both Judaism and Christianity are also at the heart of the Islamic tradition – love of God and love of neighbor. In a style that lends itself to the classroom and beyond, the book’s seven chapters all begin with a case study of justice, so as to emphasize that justice must also be embodied in righteous social, political and economic practices. Along the way,...
Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
This study introduces a crucial ingredient missing from the processes of nation-building in Afgha... more This study introduces a crucial ingredient missing from the processes of nation-building in Afghanistan. It consists of six sections. The first discusses the concept of "nation" in the context of Afghanistan. The next section, "Nation-building from the 'Iron Amir' to the strange irony of new Taliban" surveys the dynamic effects of Islamization, centralization of government, reformation, leftism, Islamists, and the Taliban, on nation-building in Afghanistan. Discussion in the following section 'Afghanistan from 2001-2021' pays a close attention to the recent process of nation-building in Afghanistan by international aid and relief agencies. The two following sections discuss the nature of significance of an integrative ideology to build a nation and its intrinsic nature in Afghanistan. The section titled "The key missing ingredient," arguing for the necessity of an integrative ideology examines competing meanings of ideology. The "The Integrative Ideology" develops an evaluation of the character of theology, politics, social mores, and culture in Afghanistan. This review of Afghan culture, values, and traditions shows the important role of curious pragmatism, moderation, and morality as the foundation for a unique Afghan ideology, to unify and persuade Afghans to build their nation. This leads to rejecting the popular portrayals of Afghanistan as the land of radicalism, tribalism, and xenophobia. This inter-disciplinary study relies on published literature in English and Persian on Afghanistan, nation-building, and personal experiences of the author.
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 2022
contexts and conditions that are still ‘experimenting’ with modern conceptions of the state. More... more contexts and conditions that are still ‘experimenting’ with modern conceptions of the state. Moreover, the state in Muslim contexts does not only incorporate religion, albeit in different ways depending on the country, but also represents socio-ethnic and tribal alliances (playing the role of judge, maintaining order against dissidence, assuring the loyalty of the army, redistributing resources, etc.). This dimension is absent from the perspectives reviewed here. And thus, for as long as we discard the ethnic-tribal dimension of political power (focusing only on its relations to religious authority), understanding the role of the state in Muslim contexts is incomplete. For both Sunnis and Shiʿism, legitimate political and religious authority is expected to be supreme only if the religious-political guide also claims a Qurayshite or Hashemite genealogy. This book stimulates discussions that will be of interest to historians of Islamic political thought. The findings reported here shed new light on the possibility of rethinking the idea of the state’s sovereignty in Muslim contexts. In addition, the chapters in this volume make several contributions to the current literature on political dilemmas in Islamic ethics, especially with regard to secularization, the limits of democracy and liberalism, and the place of religion in Muslims societies.
The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP) annual seminar, held in Washington in the... more The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP) annual seminar, held in Washington in the Fall of 2008, provoked such on ongoing debate that it was impossible to call it to an end. Thus, the topic, The Secular and the Sacred: Complementary and/or Conflictual? was carried over to the 2009 seminar. The discussion, indeed, debate, never ended. It is still raging. The seminars brought together over 35 scholars from different countries. This volume collects their papers. Each seminar unfolded over a six week period and was framed by insights from Charles Taylor, John Rawls, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jurgen Habermas and in constant dialogue with different religious and cultural traditions. Nonetheless, the practical, political, and social implications of the issue were always, and sometimes dramatically and graphically, on the table. Discussions were often fierce but always friendly. The editors express gratitude to Edward Alam, Notre Dame University, Lebanon, for his leadership of the seminars and to a number of eminent scholars who sat in on the discussions and greatly added to the quality of debate and the clarity of conclusions, Sef
Nietzsche and Rumi belong to two different time and spaces: one a Germen Post-modern Philosopher,... more Nietzsche and Rumi belong to two different time and spaces: one a Germen Post-modern Philosopher, the other an Afghani Middle Ages Sufi. After an introduction about both figures and methodology used here, this paper presents a detailed discussion on commonalities between Nietzsche and Rumi. The first section illustrates on the shared methodology of writings which are the rousing language, hidden ideas amid simple points, and the paradoxical teachings. The second part studies the shared fundamental concepts among these philosophers. These concepts are Anti-idolism, the intuitional knowledge, and the authenticity of person. The last section of this paper called “inspirations” explains how those shared methodology and ideas serve two aims: mutual understanding between two different philosophies as well as enhancing our comprehension of humanity.
Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2020
Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2018
Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2015
Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2017
Religious Studies Review, 2019
The Ecumenical Review, 2018
This paper seeks to elaborate how a constructive dialogue between Christianity and Islam provides... more This paper seeks to elaborate how a constructive dialogue between Christianity and Islam provides the faithful with a chance to promote ecotheology and earth‐honouring ideas. It focuses on Orthodox Christianity, particularly St. Gregory and the Buffalo Statement (2015), alongside many verses of the Quran to develop the subject. It reshapes both Christian and Islamic modules of the relationship between God and humans as the Creator and the Creature. Thus, the notions of the “image of God” in Christianity and of “caliph of God” in Islam are elaborated to suggest a new theology which honours the earth and worldly life as well as enriches people’s lives with faith and divinity. The new theology uses faith concepts to serve humanity with regards to new demands and challenges rather than keeping humanity at its service.
Philosophy, Culture, and Traditions
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Papers by Sayed Hassan Akhlaq
The issue of the relation of the sacred to the secular has become paramount in virtually every country in the world. From church-state relations in the US, with the debates around abortion and same-sex marriage, to the vitriolic discussions in France over the veil (hijab) – sacred-secular, faith-reason, transcendence-imminence -- impacts every aspect of personal, social, and political life. Indeed, the questions often asked are whether Huntington’s, Clash of Civilizations is today’s reality? Is clash and conflict inevitable?
This volume collects papers from scholars from all around the globe and digs into that question. Do the sacred and the secular necessarily end in conflict? Building on scholars such as Charles Taylor, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jurgen Habermaus, and John Rawls, as well as the world’s great religious traditions, the authors assembled here respond with a nuanced, but resounding, NO. A deeper read demands the possibility, indeed, necessity, of complementarity. It has become ever more urgent to discover the proper and complementary relation between the two so that both can be promoted through mutual collaboration. The deeper implications of the discussion can be perceived in many current global problems: cultural identity, multiculturalism, pluralism, nationalism, economic inequality, race, terrorism, migration, public education, and climate change.
The volume unfolds in seven sections: Foundations; Sacred and Secular; Complement or Conflict; Hermeneutics; African traditions; South Asian Traditions; Chinese Traditions; and Islamic Traditions. It is fascinating to observe how the various authors grapple with unfolding the relation of sacred/secular, faith/reason, church-mosque/state, transcendence/imminence.
The section on Islam illustrates this. These chapters deal with the thorny, usually misunderstood debate between the scholars and those, westerners refer to as “fundamentalists” or “radicals.” In the latter, there is no space left to reason, interpretation, or historical criticism. This ugly divide usually emerges in the hot-button issues like the treatment of women and religion-related terrorism. However, these oversimplifications betray the intellectual roots of Islamic tradition. Here the argument is advanced that there are common and multiple meanings of rationality in the Islamic primary sources and that doctrine, the Qur’an, and the Sunnah, open considerable space for the rational and the secular in Islamic teachings. Unknown to most in the West, the grappling within Islam goes on. Moreover, the grappling seems to be heating up in all traditions. We are all called to the discussion. Our globe needs it!