Enlightenment
All topics-
Tolerance and religious freedom in France
Fighting radical Islam with lessons in secularism
The French government wants to send imams and non-Muslim civil servants to classes in secularism and religious freedom in an attempt to prevent home-grown extremism and promote tolerance. Elizabeth Bryant reports from Lyon on a programme that is paving the way
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Interview with Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole
"There is a collective will to live together"
Prominent Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole is a leading authority on Islamic identity and urban Muslim women. In an interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, she explains why freedom of speech is not sacred and why a new society in Europe is inevitable
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Islam and violence
Conservative Muslims refute the violence of IS
Does Islamic theology have the argumentative resources to counter the claim that violence perpetrated in the name of Islam is covered by verses from the Koran? Yes, says the Islam expert Katajun Amirpur, pointing to an open letter from Muslim scholars
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Interview with Angelika Neuwirth
"The claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age-old cliche"
In this interview with Anna Alvi and Alia Hübsch, Prof. Angelika Neuwirth says that the claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age old cliché, and that it is pride in the Enlightenment that continues to lead people to believe that Western Culture is superior to Islam
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Islamic Feminism and Reformist Islam
Against the Politicisation of the Koran
Muslim feminists such as Amina Wadud use the Koran to argue in favour of women's rights and against the patriarchal system. But unfortunately, as Nimet Seker writes, some feminists are falling into the apologist trap and running the risk of politically exploiting Islam
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The German Islam Scholar Lamya Kaddor
Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf
Does the Koran really demand that women wear headscarves? Or is it mainly older men who claim they can decide how women should dress – with no theological foundation whatsoever? For the Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor, there is no question about it: the headscarf is obsolete
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Interview with Hans Magnus Enzensberger
"Europe Has No Copyright on the Enlightenment"
At the invitation of Sheikh Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, a number of eminent German and Arab intellectuals recently met for a "cultural dialogue". Hans Magnus Enzensberger was among their number, addressing in his speech the question of whether the Arab world needs a new Enlightenment. Loay Mudhoon spoke to the author