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Current tendencies in religious studies and theology show a growing
interest for the interchange between religions and the cultures of
rationalization surrounding them. The studies published in this
volume, based on the international conferences of both the
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and the Israel
Academy of Sciences and Humanities, aim to contribute to this field
of interest by dealing with concepts and influences of
rationalization in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and religion in
general. In addition to taking a closer look at the immediate links
in the history of tradition between those rationalizing movements
and evolutions in religion, emphasis is put on
intellectual-historical convergences: Therefore, the articles are
led by central comparative questions, such as what factors
foster/hinder rationalization?; where are criteria for
rationalization drawn from?; in which institutions is
rationalization taking place?; who propagates, supports and
utilizes rationalization?
The dawn of the modern age posed challenges to all of the world's
religions - and since then, religions have countered with
challenges to modernity. In Religious Responses to Modernity, seven
leading scholars from Germany and Israel explore specific instances
of the face-off between religious thought and modernity, in
Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As co-editor Christoph Markschies
remarks in his Foreword, it may seem almost trivial to say that
different religions, and the various currents within them, have
reacted in very different ways to the "multiple modernities"
described by S.N. Eisenstadt. However, things become more
interesting when the comparative perspective leads us to discover
surprising similarities. Disparate encounters are connected by
their transnational or national perspectives, with the one side
criticizing in the interest of rationality as a model of
authorization, and the other presenting revelation as a critique of
a depraved form of rationality. The thoughtful essays presented
herein, by Simon Gerber, Johannes Zachhuber, Jonathan Garb, Rivka
Feldhay, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Israel Gershoni and Christoph Schmidt,
provide a counterweight to the popularity of some
all-too-simplified models of modernization.
Current tendencies in religious studies and theology show a growing
interest for the interchange between religions and the cultures of
rationalization surrounding them. The studies published in this
volume, based on the international conferences of both the
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and the Israel
Academy of Sciences and Humanities, aim to contribute to this field
of interest by dealing with concepts and influences of
rationalization in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and religion in
general. In addition to taking a closer look at the immediate links
in the history of tradition between those rationalizing movements
and evolutions in religion, emphasis is put on
intellectual-historical convergences: Therefore, the articles are
led by central comparative questions, such as what factors
foster/hinder rationalization?; where are criteria for
rationalization drawn from?; in which institutions is
rationalization taking place?; who propagates, supports and
utilizes rationalization?
Since the beginning of its history, Islam has encountered other
religious communities both in Arabia and in the territories
conquered during its expansion. Muslims faced other religions from
the position of a ruling power and were therefore able to determine
the nature of that relationship in accordance with their world-view
and beliefs. Yohanan Friedmann's original and erudite study
examines questions of religious tolerance as they appear in the
Qur'an and in the prophetic tradition, and analyses the principle
that Islam is exalted above all religions, discussing the ways in
which this principle was reflected in various legal pronouncements.
The book also considers the various interpretations of the Qur'anic
verse according to which 'No compulsion is there in religion ...',
noting that, despite the apparent meaning of this verse, Islamic
law allowed the practice of religious coercion against Manichaeans
and Arab idolaters, as well as against women and children in
certain circumstances.
Yohanan Friedmann's study of tolerance in Islam sheds light not only on medieval attitudes to interfaith relations, but on the approach of some radical Islamic movements today. Muslim rulers encountered other religious communities throughout much of their history and dictated the nature of that relationship, in accordance with their particular beliefs. Friedmann uses the Qur'an and classical Muslim sources to reveal that, while attitudes were usually tolerant, coercion was employed on occasions against marginal elements.
Expectation of a redeemer is a widespread phenomenon across many
civilizations. Classical Islamic traditions maintain that the mahdi
will transform our world by making Islam the sole religion, and
that he will do so in collaboration with Jesus, who will return as
a Muslim and play a major role in this apocalyptic endeavour. While
the messianic idea has been most often discussed in relation to
Shi'i Islam, it is highly important in the Sunni branch as well. In
this groundbreaking work, Yohanan Friedmann explores its roots in
Sunni Islam, and studies four major mahdi claimants - Ibn Tumart,
Sayyid Muhammad Jawnpuri, Muhammad Ahmad and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad -
who made a considerable impact in the regions where they emerged.
Focusing on their religious thought, and relating it to classical
Muslim ideas on the apocalypse, he examines their movements and
considers their achievements, failures and legacies - including the
ways in which they prefigured some radical Islamic groups of modern
times.
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