Author: Rachid Boutayeb

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Islamic scholar and writer Stefan Weidner (photo: private)

Interview with Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner

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Thinking outside the Western box

In interview with Rachid Boutayeb, Stefan Weidner complains that even the most critical thinkers of Western tradition have practically never looked beyond their Western horizons. Islam, Indian religions and philosophies of non-European cultures are virtually absent from this thinkingMore

Non-fiction: Stefan Weidner on the future of the West: Next-level cosmopolitanismNon-fiction: Pankaj Mishra's "Age of Anger": The embittered majorityQantara dossier: Globalisation
Hazem Saghieh, political analyst and editor at the Arab newspaper 'Al Hayat' (photo: private)

Interview with Hazem Saghieh

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Beyond the Authority of Religion and the Rule of Family Clans

The Lebanese political analyst and opinion-maker Hazem Saghieh is one of the foremost liberal thinkers in the Arab world. He has just published a book in which he analyses why democratic modernisation has failed to make much headway in Arab countries so far. Rachid Boutayeb spoke with him on the subjectMore

Nine Months After the Upheaval in the Arab World: Is the Revolution Devouring Its Children?Critical Reflections on the Arab Revolutions: Profiteers from Authoritarian DecayDeterring Arab Democracy: Unholy Alliances
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca (photo: Wikipedia)

Mohamed Aziz Lahbabi's 'Muslim Personalism'

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Draft of an Islamic Anthropology

The idea of the human being as an individual personality bears the deep stamp of the Christian religion and European culture. For Muslims, this way of thinking is not a matter of course. Moroccan philosopher Mohamed Aziz Lahbabi interpreted the concept of the person from the perspective of Islamic sources, generating a dialogue between the Muslim image of man and that of Western anthropologies. An interview with Markus Kneer, expert on Lahbabi's philosophyMore

Obituary for Mohammed Arkoun: A Pioneer of Modern Critical Islam StudiesPortrait of the Philosopher Mohammed Abed al-Jabri: Critique of Arab ReasonDossier: Reformist Islam
Mohamed Talbi (photo: Beat Stauffer)

Mohamed Talbi

''Religious Dogmas Terrorize the Spirit''

The Tunisian intellectual Mohamed Talbi is regarded as one of the most critical leading thinkers in the Arab world. In his most recently published book, he denounces traditional Islamic religious scholars and argues for a contemporary reading of the Koran. Rachid Boutayeb introduces Mohamed TalbiMore

Interview with Hachem Saleh: We Should Take the Path of Religious EnlightenmentDossier: Reform Islam Maha El-Kaisy-Friemuth: We urgently need reform within Islam