Shabbir Akhtar | University of Oxford (original) (raw)
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Books by Shabbir Akhtar
Pluralism in Islamic Contexts - Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges , 2021
Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human righ... more Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human rights, how should Christians read the Qur’an?
Yaqeen Institute of Islamic Research, 2020
This essay provides a panoramic view of the Qur’anic perspective on the resources of human nature... more This essay provides a panoramic view of the Qur’anic perspective on the resources of human nature. Exploring this strategic theme assists the intelligent inquirer to locate the root of the tensions between several related but rival—and, in some cases, totally opposed—views of the true image of our humanity. How do we orient our societies towards receiving the mercy and grace of God? How do we best strive in His path?
Be Careful with Muhammad! Salman Rushdie and the Battle for Free Speech (2nd Edition with a New Preface), 2020
The execution of the entire editorial staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 20... more The execution of the entire editorial staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, and the continuing attacks on their Paris headquarters, show that the battle for free speech still rages on with full fury. The trial of a dozen French Muslims, accused of complicity in the Charlie Hebdo killings, has started (October 2020). The struggle for absolute liberty of publication was initiated by Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988). Shabbir Akhtar’s Be Careful with Muhammad!, written originally as a critique of Rushdie’s provocation, remains relevant to current debates about the right to offend religious sensibilities.
Islam as Political Religion: The Future of an Imperial Faith, 2010
The Qur'an and the Secular Mind: A philosophy of Islam, 2007
Be Careful with Muhammad! The Salman Rushdie Affair, 1989
Papers by Shabbir Akhtar
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 1990
We are accustomed to hearing that modern secularized humanity rejects the sovereignty of God in f... more We are accustomed to hearing that modern secularized humanity rejects the sovereignty of God in favour of inferior, purely human powers and realities. Yet this new idolatory (shirk) is typically unintentional. It is not identical in character to the intentional idolatry of a Faust who ...
Yaqeen, 2022
How did the Qur’an motivate people to prioritize the eternal next life over the immediate pleasur... more How did the Qur’an motivate people to prioritize the eternal next life over the immediate pleasures of this ephemeral world? What are the resources the Qur’an offers us to cultivate the correct kind of motivation, if not zeal, in matters of faithful striving? These are the questions that this essay sets out to answer.
The Muslim World Book Review, 2020
Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, a... more Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, ancient international organizations that impede progress, and moreover, provide a major source of global violence? These authors try to answer this question and I assess their efforts. Books reviewed: CONFRONTING RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE: A COUNTER-NARRATIVE, edited by Richard Burridge and Jonathan Sacks. London: SCM Press, 2018. RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, by Lee Marsden. Cambridge: Polity, 2019. HOW VIOLENCE SHAPES RELIGION, by Ziya Meral. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. THE WEALTH OF RELIGIONS, by Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019. THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION, by Beverley Clack and Brian Clack. Cambridge: Polity, 2019.
Philosophy Bridging the World Religions, 2003
History of Islamic Philosophy, 2020
Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human righ... more Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human rights, how should Christians read the Qur’an?
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes, 2018
Choice Reviews Online, 2011
Page 1. Islam as Political Religion The future of an imperial faith Shabbir Akhtar Page 2. Islam ... more Page 1. Islam as Political Religion The future of an imperial faith Shabbir Akhtar Page 2. Islam ... secularization. Engaging with critics of modern Islam, Shabbir Akhtar sets out an agenda of what his religion is, and could be, as a political entity. ...
The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 1988
Sophia, 1986
Thomas Paine's iconoclastic The Age of Reason.' is a vigorous defence of deism. Paine&#... more Thomas Paine's iconoclastic The Age of Reason.' is a vigorous defence of deism. Paine's God is the deus otiosus who reveals his will solely through nature--the open Book of God--and men's own minds and consciences. Prophets, miracles, and revelations--the stuff that ...
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 1991
Many Arabists have believed that the traditional Islamic dogmas about the nature and status of di... more Many Arabists have believed that the traditional Islamic dogmas about the nature and status of divine inspiration and revelation are mistaken, unaccountably rigid and intellectually crude. I examine Kenneth Cragg's critique of the ancient Muslim confidence about the Qur'an as the literal Word of God undiluted by human linguistic and mental variables external to its divine origin. I argue that Cragg's worries are idle and that his proposed model is based on a confusion between the genesis of scripture and the interpretation of its claims. His views about qur'anic exegesis are shown to be erroneous and guided by considerations other than those professed. The paper concludes with an assessment of the strengths of the traditional dogmatic position.
International Studies in Philosophy, 1991
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes
Pluralism in Islamic Contexts - Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges , 2021
Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human righ... more Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human rights, how should Christians read the Qur’an?
Yaqeen Institute of Islamic Research, 2020
This essay provides a panoramic view of the Qur’anic perspective on the resources of human nature... more This essay provides a panoramic view of the Qur’anic perspective on the resources of human nature. Exploring this strategic theme assists the intelligent inquirer to locate the root of the tensions between several related but rival—and, in some cases, totally opposed—views of the true image of our humanity. How do we orient our societies towards receiving the mercy and grace of God? How do we best strive in His path?
Be Careful with Muhammad! Salman Rushdie and the Battle for Free Speech (2nd Edition with a New Preface), 2020
The execution of the entire editorial staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 20... more The execution of the entire editorial staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, and the continuing attacks on their Paris headquarters, show that the battle for free speech still rages on with full fury. The trial of a dozen French Muslims, accused of complicity in the Charlie Hebdo killings, has started (October 2020). The struggle for absolute liberty of publication was initiated by Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988). Shabbir Akhtar’s Be Careful with Muhammad!, written originally as a critique of Rushdie’s provocation, remains relevant to current debates about the right to offend religious sensibilities.
Islam as Political Religion: The Future of an Imperial Faith, 2010
The Qur'an and the Secular Mind: A philosophy of Islam, 2007
Be Careful with Muhammad! The Salman Rushdie Affair, 1989
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 1990
We are accustomed to hearing that modern secularized humanity rejects the sovereignty of God in f... more We are accustomed to hearing that modern secularized humanity rejects the sovereignty of God in favour of inferior, purely human powers and realities. Yet this new idolatory (shirk) is typically unintentional. It is not identical in character to the intentional idolatry of a Faust who ...
Yaqeen, 2022
How did the Qur’an motivate people to prioritize the eternal next life over the immediate pleasur... more How did the Qur’an motivate people to prioritize the eternal next life over the immediate pleasures of this ephemeral world? What are the resources the Qur’an offers us to cultivate the correct kind of motivation, if not zeal, in matters of faithful striving? These are the questions that this essay sets out to answer.
The Muslim World Book Review, 2020
Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, a... more Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, ancient international organizations that impede progress, and moreover, provide a major source of global violence? These authors try to answer this question and I assess their efforts. Books reviewed: CONFRONTING RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE: A COUNTER-NARRATIVE, edited by Richard Burridge and Jonathan Sacks. London: SCM Press, 2018. RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, by Lee Marsden. Cambridge: Polity, 2019. HOW VIOLENCE SHAPES RELIGION, by Ziya Meral. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. THE WEALTH OF RELIGIONS, by Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019. THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION, by Beverley Clack and Brian Clack. Cambridge: Polity, 2019.
Philosophy Bridging the World Religions, 2003
History of Islamic Philosophy, 2020
Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human righ... more Given the civic needs of open Western societies which respect pluralism, democracy and human rights, how should Christians read the Qur’an?
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes, 2018
Choice Reviews Online, 2011
Page 1. Islam as Political Religion The future of an imperial faith Shabbir Akhtar Page 2. Islam ... more Page 1. Islam as Political Religion The future of an imperial faith Shabbir Akhtar Page 2. Islam ... secularization. Engaging with critics of modern Islam, Shabbir Akhtar sets out an agenda of what his religion is, and could be, as a political entity. ...
The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 1988
Sophia, 1986
Thomas Paine's iconoclastic The Age of Reason.' is a vigorous defence of deism. Paine&#... more Thomas Paine's iconoclastic The Age of Reason.' is a vigorous defence of deism. Paine's God is the deus otiosus who reveals his will solely through nature--the open Book of God--and men's own minds and consciences. Prophets, miracles, and revelations--the stuff that ...
Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 1991
Many Arabists have believed that the traditional Islamic dogmas about the nature and status of di... more Many Arabists have believed that the traditional Islamic dogmas about the nature and status of divine inspiration and revelation are mistaken, unaccountably rigid and intellectually crude. I examine Kenneth Cragg's critique of the ancient Muslim confidence about the Qur'an as the literal Word of God undiluted by human linguistic and mental variables external to its divine origin. I argue that Cragg's worries are idle and that his proposed model is based on a confusion between the genesis of scripture and the interpretation of its claims. His views about qur'anic exegesis are shown to be erroneous and guided by considerations other than those professed. The paper concludes with an assessment of the strengths of the traditional dogmatic position.
International Studies in Philosophy, 1991
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes
The New Testament in Muslim Eyes
Muslim World Book Review , 2023
Book review by Shabbir Akhtar. Reforming Modernity, by Wael Hallaq; The Idea of European Islam, b... more Book review by Shabbir Akhtar. Reforming Modernity, by Wael Hallaq; The Idea of European Islam, by Mohammed Hashas; Thinking Through Revelation, by Robert Dobie; Arab Political Thought, by Georges Corm; The Law of War and Peace in Islam, by Muhammad Munir.
The Muslim World Book Review, 2020
Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, a... more Are faiths today intellectually defensible and economically useful - or merely backward relics, ancient international organizations that impede progress, and moreover, provide a major source of global violence? These authors try to answer this question and I assess their efforts. Books reviewed:
CONFRONTING RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE: A COUNTER-NARRATIVE, edited by Richard Burridge and Jonathan Sacks. London: SCM Press, 2018.
RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, by Lee Marsden. Cambridge: Polity, 2019.
HOW VIOLENCE SHAPES RELIGION, by Ziya Meral. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
THE WEALTH OF RELIGIONS, by Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION, by Beverley Clack and Brian Clack. Cambridge: Polity, 2019.
The Muslim World Book Review, 39:1, 2018
What is political Islam? Is the qualifying adjective necessary? This pair of questions supplies t... more What is political Islam? Is the qualifying adjective necessary? This pair of questions supplies the red thread that binds these five books which together probe the Muslim bid for political power through ‘terrorism’ and vigilante violence. What motivates committed Muslims to confront the violence of vastly superior western powers? Can these radicals ever succeed? Books reviewed:
WHAT IS POLITICAL ISLAM? By Jocelyne Cesare. Boulder, CO.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2018.
THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO RELIGION AND TERRORISM. Edited by James Lewis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
THE CALIPHATE AT WAR: THE IDEOLOGICAL, ORGANISATIONAL AND MILITARY INNOVATIONS OF ISLAMIC STATE. By Ahmed Hashim. London: Hurst and Co, 2018.
AL-QAEDA 2.0: A CRITICAL READER. Edited by Donald Holbrook. London: Hurst and Co, 2017.
TRIBES AND GLOBAL JIHADISM. Edited by Virginie Collombier & Olivier Roy. London: Hurst and Co, 2017.
The Journal of Religion, 1986
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