From: "John W. Marshall" <john.marshall-AT-utoronto.ca>
Subject: RE: A Call to the Muslims of the World - Endorsed by Richard Dawkins
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 06:35:59 -0400


Both Janice Ho Chiew Ling and "MT" have now responded to the "Call"
contained in Wolf Factory's post of 2 October 2001 under the assumption that
Richard Dawkins wrote the post.  In MT's case, it seems that responding to
Dawkins as an author and public figure is offered as suitable substitute for
addressing issues.

Janice Ho Chiew Ling: "Dawkins's article suggests ..."; "Dawkins assumes
..."  Apart from the question of the author of the call, I concur with you
that the call does go too far with a "one Islam" view.  Perhaps the call's
own dogmatism needs more of the examination you have begun.

MT: "Here is a response, then.  Richard Dawkins is well known for being
anti-religion. ..."  MT's response veers occasionally into the analytical,
but is mostly directed at Dawkins who doesn't seem to be the author of the
post at all.  It ends on the personal again.

As it turns out (I went searching early this morning) the call's "home"
seems to be at http://www.secularislam.org -- an organization with which I
am not familiar.

Because of my lack of expertise in Islam, my lack of personal involvement in
it, and because I agree with both Janice and "MT" that prooftexting is an
irresponsible way to characterise a tradition, I can't sign on to the call's
programme of resolute secularisation.  Nevertheless I raised this question
in order to hear more about contemporary understandings of Islam that go
beyond assertions that it is a religion of peace and that Jihad means
struggle rather than holy war.  Fine ideas, but only part of the complex
conversation that any religion spanning cultures and millennia must
undertake.

 --jwm
_____________________________________________________________________
John W. Marshall               Assistant Professor
                               Department for the Study of Religion
                               University of Toronto
john.marshall-AT-utoronto.ca      416.978.8122



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