An Enchanted Modern is an ethnographic research conducted by Lara Deed in the Southern suburbs of Beirut. Deeb demonstrates that Islam and modernity are not in opposition but complimentary. She examines the ways that individual and collective expressions along with the understanding of piety have been debated, contested and reformulated. By emphasizing the ways modernity and piety are lived, debated and shared by ‘everyday Islamist’, this book shows that Islamism is not static or monolithic.
In the introductory part of this book Deeb notes that asking questions of whether or not people are modern are not productive. Instead Deebs (2006:16) states that:
I will focus on how people understand the terms of debate, how they approach the question of modern, what they desire for themselves and their community—without assuming the universality of desires or that progress has a single trajectory.
This is a strength in Deeb’s book because the reader can seek to understand the different discourse and assessment about modern-ness that the Islamist debate in various ways. It is also helpfu...
Ansary, Mir Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Print.
Laura Deeb’s An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi’i Lebanon seeks to rectify post-9/11 notions of political Islam as anti-modern and incongruous with Western formulations of secular modernity. Specifically, Deeb is writing in opposition to a Weberian characterization of modern secular Western societies as the development of bureaucracies through social rationalization and disenchantment. Within this Weberian framework Deeb asserts that Shia communities are in-part modern because of the development of beuorocratic institutions to govern and regulate religious practice. However, Deeb makes a stronger argument oriented towards dislodging the assumptions "that Islamism is static and monolithic, and that
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
Violent Jihad as a struggle against one’s enemies has its root in [these] situations. When the Islamic religion spread over the region, Jihad became a religious tenet and assumed the form of a peaceful, internal struggle to strive for the good and reject the evil in one’s action. Violent, external conflict was never r...
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
Something is typically considered modern according to dicitonary.com, an online repository of word definitions as ‘characteristic of present and recent; contemporary; not antiquated or obsolete’. This viewpoint of the contemporary manifests itself in the onward march of technological progress and the innate human desire to advance and improve on those that came before us. To be modern is to accept that the past is of a lesser state of development than how we are living in modern times, and that the current paradigm of contemporary society is a clear and present progressivist as stated by the article Redefining the Modern World 2013 ‘We define "not modern” as what existed in Europe before 1800’.
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Democracy and Islam, an article written by Irfan Ahmad1 strives to show that there is a possibility that Islam can move towards democracy. On the other hand, Islam and Liberal Democracy: A Historical Overview, an article written by Bernard Lewis2 discusses how a democracy is unable to work in Islamic States. In this essay, I will be comparing and contrasting the two articles. Both Bernard and Irfan carry weight in their arguments and have certain strong points, as well as weaknesses. The major difference between the two articles is the variation of the core definition of democracy that the writers have, and their distinct perspectives of the workings of a democracy. In addition, the articles also differ in their chosen format and the authors’ thoughts on the Catholic and Western influence. The fundamental dispute of democracy and Islam are strong in both articles, and they are resolved in a respective manner. Irfan was successful in formulating a more compelling case and was able to maintain better structure; however, I am a firm believer that Islam is a theocratic system and it is not compatible with democracy as a system of governance.
Rippin A. 1990, Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Volume 1: The Formative Period, Routledge, London and New York.
Modernism can be defined through the literary works of early independent 20th century writers. Modernism is exp...
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
In both given articles, “The Roots of Muslim Rage” by Bernard Lewis, and “The Roots of Muslim Rage Revisited” by Nicolaas J.E. van der Zee, argue about the enhancement of the Muslim fundamentalism with different perspectives; however, I believe that Lewis’ view may be quiet misleading to the actual perception. Lewis indicates that Muslim fundamentalism is conceived through the Muslim community’s oppression and dissatisfaction with the West’s political involvement, as well as “Islam is a source of aggression” . In defiance of Lewis’ opinion, the word ‘Islam’ comes from the word peace as well as the will of submission to God. The notion of aggression and violence that Lewis conceptualizes to be the headline of Islam does not have any supporting
Najjar, M. “Islamic Fundamentalism and the Intellectuals: The Case of Naguib Mahfouz.”British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 25.1 (1998): 139-168. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2014.
Kenneth Jost. 2005. “Understanding Islam.” Annual Editions: Anthropology 11/12, 34th Edition. Elvio Angeloni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.