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42. Religious Social Awareness in Islamic Societies Suffers Duality

Wed, 2010-09-08 14:44 — nevine

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Year: 
2010
Week: 
23
Article number: 
42
Article pages: 
9
Date of source: 
June 8, 2010
Author: 
Tal‘at Radwān
Reviewer: 
Mon&#225 Sa‘d
Article summary: 
This article explores contemporary critiques of the Arab and Muslim identities.

 

Article full text: 
Thinker and translator Shawqī Jalāl displayed in his latest book (Archeology of the Arab Mind: Reasons of Retardation and Factors of Renaissance, the case of a man in an underdeveloped society who surrenders his will to heaven (to the extent of denial), while the experience of the developed nations have proved the width of man's will and responsibility to bring about a renaissance. This doesn't mean denying the role of the heaven, but emphasizing the role of the man's creative mind in guiding the world's affairs, a concept known as secularism.
 
The role of the creative mind is supported with the augmented the role of the cultural specificity of each people; and people in all human societies use the same scientific curricula and mathematical equations (each civilization has its cultural specificity). For example, the religious expression in the Bedouin community is different from that in the settled agricultural community, a matter which means that the religious social awareness of the Islamic communities is inconsistent.
 
Jalāl believes that it is wrong to say that   national identity is absolute, such as admitting the existence of an Islamic nation with a single and monolithic identity. The result is that cultural decline, oppression and tyranny have prevailed in Arab societies, and sheikhs have come to represent the national mindset in all matters of this world and the hereafter. He noted that absolute obedience eliminates the most important feature of the human person, his ability to argue with or challenge reality. Such a controversy isn't accomplished except through uncertainty and criticism, and these properties are the reasons for progress and a way for human societies to evolve and find progress.
 
The communities whose peoples live without the vision or consideration for future's plans are regarded by social scientists as the flock led by a herder (guardian) who has absolute sovereignty.
 
Jalāl thinks that the Arab ego still lives in the dark recesses of its ancestral heritage which obscures the vision of others. He further referred to the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005), which monitors the widening gap between Arabs and the progress, noting that that (all) the Arab States allocate about 0.5% of national income for scientific research (mostly salaries), compared to the 2.5% in South Korea, 3% in Israel and 3% in America.
Fulltext type: 
Summary
Quality: 
The article contains no obvious errors...
Classification: 
Opinion
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