Alternative Islamic Discourses and Religious Authority

Susanne Olsson, Carool Kersten

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138261754
• eBook ISBN: 9781317182528
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology
• Index: Social Sciences

Like anywhere else, the present-day Islamic world too is grappling with modernity and postmodernity, secularisation and globalisation. Muslims are raising questions about religious representations and authority. This has given rise to the emergence of alternative Islamic discourses which challenge binary oppositions and dichotomies of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, continuity and change, state and civil society. It also leads to a dispersal of authority, a collapse of existing hierarchical structures and gender roles. This book further argues that the centre of gravity of many of these alternative Islamic discourses is shifting from the Arabic-speaking 'heartland' towards the geographical peripheries of the Muslim world and expatriate Muslims in North America and Europe. At the same time, in view of recent seismic shifts in the political constellation of the Middle East, the trends discussed in this book hold important clues for the possible direction of future developments in that volatile part of the Muslim world.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Notes on Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Translation and Transliteration
• 1 Introduction: Alternative Islamic Discourses and Religious Authority
• 2 Ijtihad and the Derivation of New Jurisprudence in Contemporary Shi‘ism: The Rulings of Ayatollah Bujnurdi
• 3 Judicial and Rational Challenges of the Doctrine of Jurist’s Rule
• 4 Muslim Perception of Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet Movement: Accommodating or Hindering Modern Turkey?
• 5 A Turkish Mahdi? Apocalypticism in Harun Yahya’s Da‛wah Enterprise
• 6 ‘Amr Khaled on Individual Proactivity
• 7 Harmonious Being: A Space for an Alternative Way of Exploring Religion
• 8 Islamic Post-Traditionalism in Indonesia: Revisiting Tradition and the Future of Islam
• 9 Women’s Agency in Transforming Religious Discourse: Gender-sensitive Interpretations of Islam in Indonesia
• 10 Treading a Dangerous Path? The Use of Islam in Women’s Rights Advocacy
• Index