The Place of Tolerance in Islam [Paperback]

Khaled Abou El Fadl (Author), Joshua Cohen (Author), Ian Lague (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2002

Khaled Abou El Fadl, a prominent critic of Islamic puritanism, leads off this lively debate by arguing that Islam is a deeply tolerant religion. Injunctions to violence against nonbelievers stem from misreadings of the Qur'an, he claims, and even jihad, or so-called holy war, has no basis in Qur'anic text or Muslim theology but instead grew out of social and political conflict.

Many of Abou El Fadl's respondents think differently. Some contend that his brand of Islam will only appeal to Westerners and students in "liberal divinity schools" and that serious religious dialogue in the Muslim world requires dramatic political reforms. Other respondents argue that theological debates are irrelevant and that our focus should be on Western sabotage of such reforms. Still others argue that calls for Islamic "tolerance" betray the Qur'anic injunction for Muslims to struggle against their oppressors.

The debate underscores an enduring challenge posed by religious morality in a pluralistic age: how can we preserve deep religious conviction while participating in what Abou El Fadl calls "a collective enterprise of goodness" that cuts across confessional differences?

With contributions from Tariq Ali, Milton Viorst, and John Esposito, and others.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This brief book is elegant and surprising. It opens with an essay by the incomparable El Fadl, an Islamic law professor at UCLA, about tolerance in Islamic theology and among Muslims. He effectively disposes of the terrorists' intolerant interpretations of Qur'anic passages by arguing that a more accurate interpretation would acknowledge the verses' historical contexts and note that they contradict other passages in the Qur'an that are both more tolerant and more central to Islamic practice. The book's second section consists of 11 responses to El Fadl's essay by such notable figures as professors Amina Wadud and John Esposito. The book closes with a follow-up response by El Fadl, reflecting on the opinions of his co-authors. The overall effect of the three sections is quite unexpected; the reader becomes engaged in a dialogue with each writer, realizing with each essay the complexity of the problems facing modern Muslims. The major point that emerges is that while Islam is theologically tolerant of non-Muslims, individual Muslims themselves may harbor intolerant views that they unjustifiably read into the Qur'an, which El Fadl condemns as eisegesis. In two astonishing essays, respondents Tariq Ali and Abid Ullah Jan persuasively argue that the West is actually sometimes intolerant and has taken "advantage of Islamic tolerance to force Muslims into greater subservience." Most of the responses are very innovative and represent a step forward in Islamic theological analysis. This lively debate makes for a quick and informative read.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

To Islamic legal expert Abou El Fadl's argument that the Qur'an favors a conception of Islam as pacific and tolerant, especially when viewed with contemporary eyes rather than a gaze frozen in earlier times and circumstances, 11 well-qualified respondents reply with varying degrees of skepticism. One, a resident American academic like Abou El Fadl, says such liberal interpretation may be attractive in the West, but it doesn't fly in Islam's Middle East heartland. The harshest two suggest, one more strongly than the other, that Western intolerance of Islam is a much greater problem than Islamic intolerance. A warmer critic insists that stable democracy in Islamic nations must precede Islamic tolerance. Tariq Ali cogently argues that secular political change, not liberal theology, is what the Islamic world needs. Altogether the book is an excellent place to start grappling with the problems of contemporary Islam vis-a-vis the West, though its leftist orientation begs for good right-wing complementation: try Serge Trifkovic's Sword of Islam [BKL O 1 02]. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (November 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807002291
• ISBN-13: 978-0807002292
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.3 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Post-9/11 Book Everyone Should Read, January 2, 2003

By 

W. Rashed (Jabriya, KUWAIT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Paperback)

Is Islam a religion of peace and tolerance or an evil intolerant religion? Are Muslims the oppressors or the oppressed? Does Osama bin Laden and his likes represent a minority or a majority of Muslims? Who created Osama bin Laden and who is really responsible for terrorism: Qura'nic verses, Saudi Wahabbi teachings, the impoverishment of the Islamic educational system and the growing religious illiteracy of the Muslim masses, American politics, Western double standards, the economic and political failure of corrupt regimens ruling the Muslim countries and relying on their military forces to stay in power, the Arab -Israeli conflict, or what? What can be done to avoid further terror? Is Bush's"War on terror" the solution? Who needs to change their ways, America or the Arab Muslim world or both? What kind of reform is needed, theological, political, economic or social?

This post-9/11 book is a feast for the mind. In a mostly unbiased approach 12 authors freely and constructively debate the reasons behind 9/11 AND solutions to avoid future mayhem. What makes this book very interesting and uniquely insightful is that the authors come from different backgrounds: Americans, Arabs, Asians, Muslims and non-Muslims, conservatives and liberals, professors (Islamic studies, Islamic law, humanities, history, philosophy), writers, editors, journalists, a political analyst and a social anthropologist. They naturally offer quite differing points of view and so the reader is given a chance to expand his/her vision, to analyze and conclude. This book deserves to be widely read because it is an honest attempt to clarify a very complex situation and to search for the real culprits of 9/11. We need books, like this one, that give insight and try to unify, unfortunately many of the best selling 9/11 books are those that are extremely biased, that they divide, foster ethnic discrimination and spread hatred (for example: The Rage and The Pride by Oriana Fallaci and Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith by Robert Spencer).

The writing style differs from one author to another, ranging from simply and clearly written to dry and somewhat academic, from the controlled intellectual to the quick-tempered passionate! Overall however, the book is a quick and easy read.

Why not five stars? (1) The book is too brief; the many concepts discussed could've been expanded and more background could've been included. (2) The view of right- wing is not represented and would've added yet another dimension and completed the panoramic view of the book. However, many 9/11 books are right-wing in a way, and this point of view is somewhat well known (3) The title of the book is the title of the first essay; this book is about reasons behind 9/11 and not only about the place of tolerance in Islam, so the title does not fully represent the book. (4) Moreover, the unattractive cover has nothing to do with either the title or the book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one sad thing about this book..., August 25, 2005

By 

Kevin Bold "I must be doing something right, ... (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Paperback)

More popular books on Islam like to prattle on and copy each other about the _lack_ of tolerance in Islam, but that's like focusing on the most intolerant Christian sect and using incidents of their intolerance as proof that Christianity is uniformly intolerant.

This book was written, in part, to counteract books such as _Islam Unveiled_, _The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam_, and _The Sword and the Prophet_. These screeds are as misleading as they are popular. The sad fact about this book is that the people who need to read it the most never will -- at least not with an open mind.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars El Fadl's essay and the responses are most helpful, November 10, 2004

By 

C. Notess (Loveland, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Paperback)

This book includes a well thoughtout statement, by El Fadl, about Islamic responses to impacts of colonial and neocolonial exploits in the Middle East and South Asia. Responses to El Fadl's statement provide a dialogue that helps clarify the range of perspectives from puritanical responses on the one hand and to reinterpreting Islamic sacred writings in the context of today's world, on the other hand. The major economic, political and religious forces involved in this struggle are discussed. I would like to have seen a discussion of how the systems of honor and shame relate to the scale of systems of justice that range from tribal and patriarchal scales to global scales. The cultural system of honor contributes to energizing the conflict, as personal identities and group identities are affected in these struggles. I discuss this latter point in my E-Book - Depolarizing a Hostile World.