Sharia

Topic: Sharia

A Muslim woman prays during Eid-Ul-Fitr, 2017 (photo: Sanka Vidanagama/ZUMAPRESS/imago images)

Future-proofing Islam

Indonesia G20 presidency to focus on "the soul of Islam"

Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for both President Joko Widodo and Nahdlatul Ulama – the religious backbone of Widodo's government – when he laid out the agenda for his country's presidency of the G20 last week. James M. Dorsey has the detailsMore

Interview with Indonesian cleric Yahya Cholil Staquf: "We must want peace"Islamic law in Afghanistan: Sharia – nightmare or ticket to salvation?Interview with the Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir: What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law Manifesto published by Muslim intellectuals: For Islam and democracy Qantara dossier: Reform Islam

Afghan women hold banners and placards as they take part in an anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul on 8 September 2021 (photo: Hoshang Hashimi/AFP)

Afghan women challenge the Taliban

For freedom, equality and the right to play sport

Despite their promises of "moderate" rule, the Taliban have announced the end of mixed classes in universities and a ban on sports for Afghan women. Many are taking the streets to denounce the worrying measures, only to be met with violent repression. Cyrielle Cabot reportsMore

"Neo-Taliban" in Afghanistan? Democracy Taliban-style Graffiti artist Shamsia Hassani: Giving voice to Afghanistan's oppressed Shia minority in a Sunni state: Afghanistan's repressed Hazaras face a hostile Taliban

A handmade Koran with silk pages in the Afghan capital Kabul (photo: Getty Images/AFP/W.Kohsta)

Islamic law in Afghanistan

Sharia – nightmare or ticket to salvation?

The Taliban, Islamic State, al-Qaida – for most Muslims their understanding of sharia is a nightmare. But what is sharia law really? Answers by Mathias RoheMore

Reforming Islam: Show me the Sharia Manifesto published by Muslim intellectuals: For Islam and democracy Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir: What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law Islam and enlightenment: Beware of the myth Debate about sharia and democracy: A Western misconception

Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi (photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)

"Their lives are in danger"

Afghanistan’s female athletes sound alarm after Taliban takeover

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has raised grave concerns for the country’s female athletes. Now that Sharia law will be enforced, they worry about losing the freedoms they have gained over the past two decades and in some cases fear for their lives. Romain Houeix reportsMore

"I feel powerful": Afghan women find freedom in running Muslim sportswomen on the rise: An inspiration to young women around the world Qantara photo essay: "Talibanned": From kite-running to breakdancing – not again!

Public flogging of a woman, Aceh, Indonesia (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Afghanistan, the Taliban and political Islam

Sharia law around the world

With the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan there are fears they will re-impose their harsh interpretation of sharia law.More

Reforming Islam: Show me the Sharia Interview with the Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir: What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law Rationality in Islamic theology: Muslims – believers caught between reason and revelation Afghanistan in the hand of the Islamists: Taliban rule the second time round – what to expect?

Women in Afghanistan fear for their rights under the Taliban (photo: Kyodo/dpa/picture alliance)

Afghanistan in the hand of the Islamists

Taliban rule the second time round – what to expect?

In the wake of the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan, it makes sense to take a closer look at their ideology. Can they contribute to a peaceful order? German Afghanistan expert Thomas Ruttig recently outlined his view in an essay for a U.S. Military Academy West Point publication. By Rishikesh ThapaMore

Germany and its Afghan interpreters: "Why are you leaving me behind?"Taliban in the ascendant: Joe Biden and America’s withdrawal of choice 19 years on from 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?Afghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?

Taliban fighters pray while raising their flag at the Ghazni provincial governor's house, in Ghazni, southeastern, Afghanistan, Sunday, 15 August 2021 (photo: AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri)

Taliban enter Kabul

Afghan women and girls fear return to "dark days"

The Taliban’s rapid-fire advance through Afghanistan has left women and girls, a whole generation of whom have grown up with rights and freedoms, among the most vulnerable. Now they stand to lose those hard-won gains as the Taliban seize control of Kabul. Nicole Trian reportsMore

Interview with Atiq Rahimi: Unable to move forward Raihana Raha's "My Mother's Tales": Fairy tales depicting independent Afghan women Qantara photo essay: Afghanistan's modern past

Professor Amina Wadud leads a Friday prayer service in Oxford, England on 17 October 2008 (photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/picture-alliance)

Amina Wadud's "Qur'an and Woman" revisited

"Inequality between men and women is contrary to Islam"

Penned by pioneering American female imam and champion of gender equality within Islam, Amina Wadud, "Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective" (1999) had a huge impact on academic thought across the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Now it has finally been translated into French – reason enough to re-examine her groundbreaking premise. By Malika HamidiMore

Interview with Amina Wadud: ''Islam belongs to all its believers''Interview with Moroccan Islamic feminist Asma Lamrabet: Emancipation through a new reading of the Koran Koran studies: A reappraisal of the position of women in Islam Interview with the Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir: What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law

Algerian Islamic scholar Said Djabelkhir was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting Islam" (photo: Ryad Kramdi/AFP)

Interview with the Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir

What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law

Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir rejects the charge of "offending Islam". In interview with Ismail Assam, he maintains that he has been wilfully misconstrued. At the same time, he stresses that he was talking in a "historical" manner about Islam, calling for it to move on from the era of fatwas and to look critically at Muslim religious heritageMore

Interview with pioneering Islamic thinker Fehmi Jadaane: What is the essence of Islam, and does it need reforming?Interview with Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im: "We are in the middle of a transformative process"Execution for a Facebook post? Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries

Rainbow flag; couple holding hands (photo: Manuel Lopez/dpa/picture-alliance)

Pride Month 2021

Malaysia seeks stricter sharia laws for "promoting LGBT lifestyle"

A Malaysian government taskforce has proposed amendments to sharia law that would allow action to be taken against social media users for insulting Islam and "promoting the LGBT lifestyle"More

Transgender rights: Pakistan's Hijra hold their heads high Qantara photo essay: The stigma of being gay in Nigeria Moroccoʹs ʹaitaʹ folk music and "Cabaret al-Shaikat": Cross-dressers lead a musical revival Gay rights: Being Turkish and gay in Germany

Islamic revolution in Iran, 1979 (photo: picture-alliance/IMAGNO/Votava)

Life in the Islamic Republic, then and now

The softening of Sharia in Iran – four harams turn halal

On the face of it, the Iran of 2021 still bears considerable resemblance to the Islamic theocracy that was established following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. Yet, although the enforcement of Sharia law continues to this day, the definition of what is permitted and what is forbidden has shifted over the years. By Mehdi AbadiMore

The Islamic Republicʹs existential crisis: Will Iran crack under the strain?Music and power in Iran: An instrument of propaganda and control Caught between tradition and modernity: Will ancient poet Hafez win the "soft war" in Iran?Iran's stadium ban on women: Excluding the people

Islamist activists carry placards against Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was released in 2018 after spending eight years on death row for blasphemy; Karachi, 21 November 2018 (photo: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

Execution for a Facebook post?

Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries

The Prophet Muhammad never executed anyone for apostasy, nor encouraged his followers to do so. Nor is criminalising sacrilege based on Islam’s main sacred text, the Koran. In this essay, Ahmet Kuru exposes the political motivations for criminalising blasphemy and apostasyMore

Human rights in the Islamic world: Battle cry "blasphemy"Abusing blasphemy legislation: Indonesia's slide towards identity politics Authoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world: Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance The decline of Islamic scientific thought: Don't blame it on al-Ghazali

Professor Mustafa Ozturk and Turkish phrase "The truth is exhausted" (screenshot: YouTube)

Ankara School pioneer and reformist Islamic theologian

The resignation of Turkish Koran exegete Mustafa Ozturk

Professor of theology and Qantara interview partner Mustafa Ozturk has resigned from an Istanbul university after immense pressure from certain segments of the Islamic community, having advocated a version of Islam they deemed "blasphemous". Ayse Karabat reports from IstanbulMore

Interview with Turkish Islamic scholar Professor Mustafa Ozturk: "Religious groups need to be transparent"Islam and religious freedom: Coercion leads to hypocrisy Freedom of expression in Turkey: Academics on the run

"Prayer in Cairo" by Jean-Leon Gerome (source: Kunsthalle Hamburg [[File:Prayer in Cairo 1865.jpg|Prayer in Cairo 1865]] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prayer_in_Cairo_1865.jpg)

Authoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world

Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance

U.S. political scientist Ahmet T. Kuru from San Diego State University traces historical developments in the region and seeks the causes behind today's problems. Kuru received the American Political Science Association Award for his book in 2020. Musa Bagrac read it for Qantara.deMore

Islam and Democracy: The Acceleration of History Global history: Playing with the relativity of perspectives Book review: Ahmed El Shamsy's "Rediscovering the Islamic Classics": How the printing press saved Islamic classics from near extinction

Child in a Koran school in Tripoli, Libya (photo: Getty Images/AFP/MAHMUD TURKIA)

Rationality in Islamic theology

Muslims – believers caught between reason and revelation

How readers approach the Koran and Islam's prophetic tradition determines their understanding of these sources. Textual interpretation depends on your perspective: rational and liberal – or dogmatic. A new collection of essays on rationality in Islamic theology focuses on the sheer scope to be found in early Islam. By Musa BagracMore

Mouhanad Khorchideʹs "Godʹs Revelation in the Word of Men": A Koran for the 21st century President Sisi, the Grand Imam and Al-Azhar: Egypt’s eternal conundrum – reforming religious thought Interview with Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid: "I am a witness to the changes in Islam"Enlightenment in the Islamic world: Refuting the 'westernisation' narrative

Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo (photo: Awad Awad/AFP/Getty Images)

Discourse and our terms of reference

Politics and religion in Islam – one world or two?

A heated debate is raging in the Islamic world about whether the religious and political spheres in Islam are one and the same. Before this matter can be settled, the terms "religion" and "state" have to be clarified, says Syrian writer Morris Ayek. This, he says, is the only way to avoid misunderstandingsMore

Secularism in the Islamic world: Part I – It′s a knotty problem Interview with pioneering Islamic thinker Fehmi Jadaane: What is the essence of Islam, and does it need reforming?Non-fiction: ″Religious criticism around 1900″: Middle Eastern philosophy's take on Islam

Topic: Sharia

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