Customer Reviews

Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Undoubtedly, this text constitutes an essential contribution to the discourse of ideological resistance within contemporary Iranian society. Soroush, as a phenomenally visible public intellectual, has commanded an unrivaled status among those more conservative participants in the revolutionary cause, although the extent to which his writings can potentially incite a tangible political movement remains to be seen. With respect to this particular compilation, the exercise of translation is certainly exceptional and the readability with which the inherent complexity of Soroush's fusion of Islamic theology and modern philosophy is conveyed throughout the course of the book proves admirable. Nevertheless, this text warrants one primary criticism in that it fails to provide a theoretical contextualization of Soroush's thoughts amidst the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. More precisely, there is a definite need for further elaboration on the relationship of Soroush's intellectual contributions to the socioeconomic and cultural state of Iran as we now confront it, the nation's stace vis a vis the project of modernity, and the global marginalization which the country has been compelled to endure at the hands of an authoritarian theocratic apparatus.

Never mind the reviewer from Qom who attempted to write a critical review... He evidently never read the book.

I found Mr. Soroush's book to be well researched, cogently argued, eloquently written, and... touching comprehensively on the topics in the title. The author has spent a considerable part of his life researching not only Islamic philosophy, but also philosophy of science, and it shows. He brings rationality and science back to discussions of Islam (although he is not alone).

If you are not open to an honest discussion on these topics - particularly Islam - don't bother.

This selection of Soroush's writings reveals a genuinely liberal intellect rooted in his Iranian and Islamic culture but at home with Western thought, toward which he is neither aggressive nor apologetically defensive.

Soroush, who has gained a following among Iranian students and even a few of the mullahs, cites the likes of Jalal al-Din Rumi, Muhammad Iqbal, J?rgen Habermas, and Alexis de Tocqueville as often as the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad(SAW). That might seem a recipe for a rambling, rootless philosophy, but his statements are thoughtful, penetrating and coherent. Although some observers have dubbed him the Luther of Islam, he is perhaps better seen as Islam's Erasmus, since he is carefully working within the system.

I originally bought this book for 2 reasons:

1. To find out what all the hoopla is about Dr. Soroush.
2. To discover what Islam has to say about Reason, Freedom , and Democracy.

After purchasing and reading this book, I have to conclude that neither of my goals have been achieved. Regarding reason number 1, I still do not understand why this person has become so center-staged in Iranian politics and contemporary issues. I have to resort to my own theory about him. Maybe because he has fallen out of favor with some of the ruling mullahs, and therefore had to leave his homeland and earn a living writing philosophical or pseudo-philosophical books. Now the answer to reason number 2 is even less clear. I can only conclude that the title has nothing to do with the subjects of the essays. He does write about reason, freedom, and democracy, but where is the Islam? Maybe the title should have been: The Ideal of Reason, Freedom, and Democracy as wished by an Iranian intellectual exile from the Islamic Republic.

Anyway, I am completely disappointed with this book. Still, I give it 1 star because the author at least had a good sense not to remain in Iran and move to Cambridge, Massachusetts!