"Fundamentalism has lost." (F. Mernissi) 17-06-11
"Sufism is growing at the suffering
of jihadism, [i.e. extremism]." (S. Rddad) 29-06-11
"We departed early for Sousse and
Kairouan. The Grand Mosque was stellar, but most
interesting was how some young "Islamists" tried to convert
to Islam our
young lecturer, Paul, on the spot!" 05-07-11
zzz
In both Morocco and Tunisia we
experienced many examples concerning diversity within the Islamic
faith. Much like the variations, sects and splinter groups one
sees in both Judaism and Christianity, Islam has yielded a variety
of its own. We heard about the Sunni and Shi'a, Sufi, and
Ibadi orders just to name a few.
We also witnessed first-hand one of the
greatest challenges of current life in the Maghreb, during this
so-called "Arab Spring." We saw the activity of the more
conservative Islamic sects, so-called "Islamists" who are vying for
political influence and control of the resources and legal power.
More secularist-leaning Muslims, fear that such power gained in
today's more democratic processes will, ironically, render less
secular interpretations of legal dispositions of many social aspects
of life in the Islamic societies undergoing change. Of course
the varied differences and interpretations of Islam undergird how
belief will affect how the power gained is wielded.
zzz
KEY CONCEPTS/WORDS: Morocco,
Tunisia, Religion, History, Arabic, Arabism, Muslim, Islam,
Identity, Sunni, Shi'a, Sufism, Sufi, Ibadites, Kharijites, Ennahda,
Salafism, Wahhabi, Fatimids, Belief, Tenets, Pillars, Brotherhood, Islamists
FROM THE LIST OF RESOURCES:
Readings -
Eickelman,
Ennāmi, Esposito, Howe, Voll
Websites
- Shiism:
http://islam.uga.edu/shiism.html ,
Ibadites -
http://www.islamawareness.net/Deviant/Ibadis/ ,
Sidi Hamza’s Sufism -
http://www.deenislam.co.uk/sufinotes/overview.html
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