The Place of Tolerance in Islam by Khaled Abou El Fadl

The Place of Tolerance in Islam by Khaled Abou El Fadl

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 liberal divinity schools 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 tolerance 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 a collective enterprise of goodness that cuts across confessional differences?

With contributions from Tariq Ali, Milton Viorst, and John Esposito, and others.

Khaled Abou El Fadl is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Islamic Law and Chair of the Islamic Studies Program at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. He has been recognized a Carnegie Scholar in Islamic Law and has served on the United States Supreme Court. Among other distinctions, he sat on the board of directors of Human Rights Watch and the Council for International Religious Freedom. He is the author of a number of publications, including The Great Crime and Islam's Quest for Beauty.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780807002292
ISBN 10	0807002291
Title	The Place of Tolerance in Islam
Author	Khaled Abou El Fadl
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Beacon Press
Year published	2002-11-08
Number of pages	128
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.