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Papers by Simeon Ilesanmi

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and Religious Violence in Nigeria_A Just War Perspective on the Doctrine of Necessity

Religion, Law and Security in Africa, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Civil-Political Rights or Social-Economic Rights for Africa?

Research paper thumbnail of Accommodation as Establishment

Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, May 29, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Religion and politics in independent Nigeria

Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Human Rights

Encyclopedia of Religious Ethics, Jun 20, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State

Journal of Religion in Africa, Feb 1, 1999

... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BO... more ... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xxxi, 299 p. SUBJECT(S): Nigeria; Politics and government; Religion; 1960-;Religious pluralism; Religion and state. DISCIPLINE: No discipline assigned. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Religion and Upholding Academic Freedom

Journal of Religious Ethics

ABSTRACTThe editors of the JRE collected short essays from scholars of religion in response to a ... more ABSTRACTThe editors of the JRE collected short essays from scholars of religion in response to a recent incident at Hamline University that made national headlines. Last fall, Hamline University administrators refused to extend a contract to an adjunct professor of art history after a Muslim student accused her of Islamophobia for showing a 14th‐century image of Mohammad in an online class. The event provoked intense conversations about issues of academic freedom, religious diversity, the status of contingent faculty, and race. These essays bring together scholarly and personal reflections about the incident at Hamline and what it means for the pedagogy of religious studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Political Atrocities, Moral Indignation, and Forgiveness in African Religious Ethics

Religions, Nov 20, 2020

Scholarship on transitional justice has oscillated between the pedagogical value of moral magnani... more Scholarship on transitional justice has oscillated between the pedagogical value of moral magnanimity, shown by victims of past atrocities who choose to forgive their wrongdoers, and the deterrent effect of imposing punishment on the offenders, which includes making restitution to the victims of their wrongful actions. This article examines the views of two African thinkers on this issue, Archbishop Desmond Tutu who argues for forgiveness, and Wole Soyinka who defends restitution as a better way to express respect for the dignity of both the victims and the rule of law. The article contends that while traditional African values play important roles in the perspectives of these thinkers, they do not, in themselves, justify either of the two positions they advance. The article further contrasts the positive role Tutu and Soyinka assign to historical memory and truth-telling with the strategies of social forgetting and public silence embraced in Sierra Leone and Mozambique in their quest for political reconciliation.

Research paper thumbnail of Recent Theories of Religion and Politics in Nigeria

Journal of Church and State, Mar 1, 1995

... 7. John 0. Hunwick, "Introduction," in Religion and National Integr... more ... 7. John 0. Hunwick, "Introduction," in Religion and National Integration in Africa: Islam,Christianity, and Politics in the Sudan and Nigeria, ed. John 0. Hunwick (Evanston, II.: Northwestern University Press, 1992), 7. 8. Ibid., xi. 9. Ibid., 6. 10. ...

Research paper thumbnail of 41. Methodism and Politics in Africa

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 19, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and religious violence in Nigeria: A just war perspective on the doctrine of necessity

SUN MeDIA eBooks, May 15, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Political and Moral Responsibility of Religion in Africa

Studies in World Christianity, Apr 1, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Recentering Christian Ethics as Comparative Religious Ethics

Journal of Religious Ethics, Nov 19, 2019

The filial relationship between Christian ethics and Comparative Religious Ethics (CRE) need not ... more The filial relationship between Christian ethics and Comparative Religious Ethics (CRE) need not be perniciously distortive and can be salutary for comparative work. I suggest that the suspicions about CRE as a disguised form of a "Christian ethical enterprise" are overstated and that we can appreciate the value of the legacy of Christian ethics for comparative work in the focal themes of emancipatory criticism and common morality. Both of these themes, even if influenced by Christian ethics, reflect more universal social-moral problems that can be discerned in cross-cultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Inculturation and Liberation

The annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, 1995

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction: Islam and Just War Tradition

Journal of Church and State, Jun 9, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Sharia Reasoning, Political Legitimacy, and Democratic Visions

Journal of Church and State, Jan 29, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State

International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1998

... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BO... more ... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xxxi, 299 p. SUBJECT(S): Nigeria; Politics and government; Religion; 1960-;Religious pluralism; Religion and state. DISCIPLINE: No discipline assigned. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Africa’s Poverty, Human Rights, and a Just Society

Duke University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and religious violence in Nigeria

African Sun Media eBooks, May 16, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Religious Ethical Perspective

Contemporary discourse on human rights in Africa constitutes an important and controversial aspec... more Contemporary discourse on human rights in Africa constitutes an important and controversial aspect of the general discourse on African society and culture. I begin by examining the idea of human rights as a moral category and discuss its pertinence to African cultural and political life. I then analyze and discuss the two dominant positions in the current debate, namely, the communitarian and the individualist theses. I argue that both positions are inadequate because they dissociate dimensions of life that need to be interpreted in their interplay. Drawing upon samples of traditional African religious and ethical traditions, I propose a personalist theory of human rights that affirms the intrinsic individuality and sociality of the human status.

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and Religious Violence in Nigeria_A Just War Perspective on the Doctrine of Necessity

Religion, Law and Security in Africa, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Civil-Political Rights or Social-Economic Rights for Africa?

Research paper thumbnail of Accommodation as Establishment

Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, May 29, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Religion and politics in independent Nigeria

Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Human Rights

Encyclopedia of Religious Ethics, Jun 20, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State

Journal of Religion in Africa, Feb 1, 1999

... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BO... more ... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xxxi, 299 p. SUBJECT(S): Nigeria; Politics and government; Religion; 1960-;Religious pluralism; Religion and state. DISCIPLINE: No discipline assigned. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Religion and Upholding Academic Freedom

Journal of Religious Ethics

ABSTRACTThe editors of the JRE collected short essays from scholars of religion in response to a ... more ABSTRACTThe editors of the JRE collected short essays from scholars of religion in response to a recent incident at Hamline University that made national headlines. Last fall, Hamline University administrators refused to extend a contract to an adjunct professor of art history after a Muslim student accused her of Islamophobia for showing a 14th‐century image of Mohammad in an online class. The event provoked intense conversations about issues of academic freedom, religious diversity, the status of contingent faculty, and race. These essays bring together scholarly and personal reflections about the incident at Hamline and what it means for the pedagogy of religious studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Political Atrocities, Moral Indignation, and Forgiveness in African Religious Ethics

Religions, Nov 20, 2020

Scholarship on transitional justice has oscillated between the pedagogical value of moral magnani... more Scholarship on transitional justice has oscillated between the pedagogical value of moral magnanimity, shown by victims of past atrocities who choose to forgive their wrongdoers, and the deterrent effect of imposing punishment on the offenders, which includes making restitution to the victims of their wrongful actions. This article examines the views of two African thinkers on this issue, Archbishop Desmond Tutu who argues for forgiveness, and Wole Soyinka who defends restitution as a better way to express respect for the dignity of both the victims and the rule of law. The article contends that while traditional African values play important roles in the perspectives of these thinkers, they do not, in themselves, justify either of the two positions they advance. The article further contrasts the positive role Tutu and Soyinka assign to historical memory and truth-telling with the strategies of social forgetting and public silence embraced in Sierra Leone and Mozambique in their quest for political reconciliation.

Research paper thumbnail of Recent Theories of Religion and Politics in Nigeria

Journal of Church and State, Mar 1, 1995

... 7. John 0. Hunwick, "Introduction," in Religion and National Integr... more ... 7. John 0. Hunwick, "Introduction," in Religion and National Integration in Africa: Islam,Christianity, and Politics in the Sudan and Nigeria, ed. John 0. Hunwick (Evanston, II.: Northwestern University Press, 1992), 7. 8. Ibid., xi. 9. Ibid., 6. 10. ...

Research paper thumbnail of 41. Methodism and Politics in Africa

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 19, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and religious violence in Nigeria: A just war perspective on the doctrine of necessity

SUN MeDIA eBooks, May 15, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Political and Moral Responsibility of Religion in Africa

Studies in World Christianity, Apr 1, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Recentering Christian Ethics as Comparative Religious Ethics

Journal of Religious Ethics, Nov 19, 2019

The filial relationship between Christian ethics and Comparative Religious Ethics (CRE) need not ... more The filial relationship between Christian ethics and Comparative Religious Ethics (CRE) need not be perniciously distortive and can be salutary for comparative work. I suggest that the suspicions about CRE as a disguised form of a "Christian ethical enterprise" are overstated and that we can appreciate the value of the legacy of Christian ethics for comparative work in the focal themes of emancipatory criticism and common morality. Both of these themes, even if influenced by Christian ethics, reflect more universal social-moral problems that can be discerned in cross-cultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Inculturation and Liberation

The annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, 1995

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction: Islam and Just War Tradition

Journal of Church and State, Jun 9, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Sharia Reasoning, Political Legitimacy, and Democratic Visions

Journal of Church and State, Jan 29, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State

International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1998

... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BO... more ... Religious pluralism and the Nigerian state. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xxxi, 299 p. SUBJECT(S): Nigeria; Politics and government; Religion; 1960-;Religious pluralism; Religion and state. DISCIPLINE: No discipline assigned. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Africa’s Poverty, Human Rights, and a Just Society

Duke University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Counterterrorism and religious violence in Nigeria

African Sun Media eBooks, May 16, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Religious Ethical Perspective

Contemporary discourse on human rights in Africa constitutes an important and controversial aspec... more Contemporary discourse on human rights in Africa constitutes an important and controversial aspect of the general discourse on African society and culture. I begin by examining the idea of human rights as a moral category and discuss its pertinence to African cultural and political life. I then analyze and discuss the two dominant positions in the current debate, namely, the communitarian and the individualist theses. I argue that both positions are inadequate because they dissociate dimensions of life that need to be interpreted in their interplay. Drawing upon samples of traditional African religious and ethical traditions, I propose a personalist theory of human rights that affirms the intrinsic individuality and sociality of the human status.

Research paper thumbnail of African Conceptions of Human Dignity, edited with Brett G. Scharffs and Simeon O. Ilesanmi (Stellenbosch: African Sun Media, 2023).

As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approaches its 75th anniversary, contributors join t... more As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approaches its 75th anniversary, contributors join together in this tenth ACLARS volume to propose a framing of human rights in terms of African conceptions of human dignity. Following on the signing of the Punta del Este and Botswana Declarations of Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere in 2018 and 2023, contributors discuss human dignity as an African and indigenous concept grounded in relationship, community, and an overarching ethic of Ubuntu. Chapters further explore human dignity’s many meanings and relation to other rights in the African context, as well as human dignity’s connection to basic human needs, state obligations, religion and theology, gender and age, and the environment.