Suchergebnisse

The history of the Muslim world confirms the universality of the mutual interaction of existence and consciousness. Since the nineteenth century, the main challenges of the time have required from the umma mobilization and joint unification, initially in the name of liberation from colonialism and later — from the negative effects of globalization. Hence the natural and justifiable emergence of what can be called political Islam. The article is devoted to Muslim thinkers who had the greatest influence on public consciousness in India before and after its partition (1947) into India and Pakistan. The central figure in the Muslim enlightenment movement of India was Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817–1898). No one has fully presented the philosophical foundations of reformation than the eminent poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) in his "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam". Diametrically opposite to reformation stand was taken by Abul Ala Maududi (1903–1979), the founder and the leader of Jamaat-i-Islami, justified Muslim "fundamentalism". The intercultural philosophical position was implemented by Muhammad Sharif (1893–1965), a recognized authority among Muslim philosophers of India and Pakistan.

Unlike the creed sent by Allah through the Prophet Muhammad, the creator of culture is a human being's creative activity guided by Knowledge. Faith and Knowledge diff er in their relations to Time and the changes involved. The alienation between culture and religion, and especially their rigid opposition, are damaging for the society. The article refers to examples of the fruitful interaction between Faith and Knowledge, thanks to the Muslim's «keen sense of the reality of Time, and the concept of Life as a continuous movement in Time» that they had borrowed from the Prophet, who thought "in terms of life and movement with a view to create new patterns of behaviour for mankind" (M. Iqbal), as well as the creative use of ijtihad.

In the modern world Islamophobia is one of the most dangerous types of negative stereotypes that give rise to prejudices, discrimination and even aggression. Laypeople and politicians, scholars and theologians bear responsibility for multiplication and distribution of stereotyping in media. The journalists too often are not capable to distinguish religion from its believers. Islam and Muslims are not synonyms: in fact, we are talking about behavioral paradigms of the believers, not about their sacred teaching. Evaluation of Islam as radical, fanatic, intolerant, terrorist, etc., is unjustifi ed and inconsistent. The article argues inadmissibility of using the most common polar adjectives like "radical" and "traditional" for defi ning Islam. It is proposed to carry out the fundamental distinction between the actors at the political front and the participants of ideological and theological polemics. In the fi rst case, it would be appropriate to name «the radicals» as the militant fanatics, while «the traditionalists» as the tolerant Muslims. In the second case, it might be more precise to name one side as the Muslim orthodoxy, while the opposite side — renewal movement or religious reconstruction. The need to free debates involving both the reputable theologians and the ordinary Muslims is urgent. This kind of discussion might help both scholars and media representatives to free themselves from stereotypes that instigate Islamophobia.

A convincing refutation of stereotypes about Islam as a religion of implacably hostility to the adherents of other faiths serves as an example of life, activity, and evolution of thinking that was demonstrated by an outstanding political leader of the Indian national liberation movement Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958). Initially he was an ardent follower of Aligarh movement which stood for Muslim education and their cooperation with the colonial authorities. From 1911 to 1916 Azad is an active promoter of Muslim nationalism, Caliphate movement. From 1920 until the end of life Azad was a tough critic of the separatist Muslim nationalism, one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress Party, Minister of education of secular Republic of India. History of Azad's personal evolution convincingly testifi es to the dynamic nature of Islamic teaching which calls for renunciation of dogmatic views and maintaining the constant desire to discover the deep world outlook meanings