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The Qur'an Problem and Islamism: Reflections of a Dissident Muslim Paperback – December 20, 2017

by Salim Mansur (Author)

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Salim Mansur’s The Qur’an Problem and Islamism is about religion and politics, about Muslims and Islam, and the internal debate within the world of Islam about Islamic reform and what it entails. The author discusses the difference between Islam, as a world religion within the Abrahamic tradition of monotheism, and Islamism, as a political ideology and a theology of jihad, and how historically Islam as a religion was turned into the ideology of Islamism, or political Islam. The sacred text of Islam is the Qur’an, and the challenge of any text lies in how it is read, understood, and practiced. The “Qur’an problem” has been right from the outset of Islamic history following the demise of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, in how to read, understand, interpret, and apply the meaning of the Qur’an in the lives of Muslims, and how this “Qur’an problem” remains the source of violence among Muslims at the present time as it has been in the past. It is the contention of the author that any reform of Islam that will assist Muslims reconcile with the modern world of science and democracy, and contribute to peace among them and with the rest of the world, must begin with a positive resolution of the “Qur’an problem.”

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Many in the West, including even some Muslims, think that they can discuss Islam and its needs on the basis of a few words fished at random out of the Qur'an. Barack Obama took an excerpt literally when he spoke of Islam as a religion of peace. That proved, he said, that the so-called Islamic State could not be Islamic. But Mansur's book shows that over the centuries Islam has believed many ideas, not all of them consistent with others.

In careful, clear prose, Mansur takes us through the tangle of theories and inner conflicts that have shaped Islam, in which Islamists have played a large plot. It's a pathology that encourages conflict with others who can be seen as enemies, such as Jews. This compulsion has "turned into Muslim-on-Muslim violence, a raging sectarian conflict of Sunnis against Shi'ites and ethnic conflicts of tribes against tribes or nations against nations." Many of these have come accompanied by new or altered doctrine.

At the end of the 20th century, most of us viewed Muslims as adherents of an outdated but harmless religion, limited to one region and one cultural group, the Arabs. Since the eruptions that followed 2001 we have been learning how wrong we were. Mansur's cool, intelligent overview of his own faith tells us we still have a lot to learn.
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https: //nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/how-salim-mansur-is-trying-to-clarify-the-theories-and-inner-conflicts-that-have-shaped-islam
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Robert Fulford is a Toronto author, journalist, broadcaster, and editor. He writes a regular column for The National Post and is a frequent contributor to Queen's Quarterly.

About the Author

Salim Mansur is a professor of political science at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He is also the author of the award-winning (“The Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal 2014”) book Delectable Lie: a liberal repudiation of multiculturalism.

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Mantua Books Ltd. (December 20, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1927618088
ISBN-13: 978-1927618080
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #141 in Democracy (Books)
- #23 in Quran
- #146 in Terrorism (Books)

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Ira M. Edwards

From the author of Honest Nutrition

July 30, 2018

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As a concise history of Islam, this is 5 stars, far better than some others I have read. It is only thinly sugar-coated.
As "Reflections of a Dissident Muslim," 3 stars. The author is too eager to make the real Islam peaceful and tolerant, and attributing that to the Qur'an. It would be great if true; then, as he claims, reformation is possible.
If the Qur'qn doesn't really support Jew hatred, but only condemns those who then opposed Muhammad, then the present Jew hatred of the Mid-east could be ended. I applaud his effort. I don't see any such reform on the horizon.
As a defense of Islam in contrast to Islamism, this is a heroic effort. Or, a sorry effort.

Through history, and very widespread now, the Qur'an is used to justify violence and intolerance. In the West, now, many writers try to make it peaceful and tolerant. Those who know almost nothing have called Islam a "religion of peace."
How can such divergent views come from one source?
It is written in fragments without context, changing with changes in Muhammad's life, written with many half-thoughts. If not claimed to be dictated from God, it would have no value as literature or moral guidance. Inconsistencies explained away as "abrogated" makes us wonder why a message from God needs to be explained away. The real Qur'an problem is the nature of the Qur'an.
Read it as a great presentation of Islamic history.

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Frederick Litwin

This is a must-read book in order to understand Islam...

January 26, 2018

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I give this book my highest rating and I recommend it for anybody with an interest in understanding Islam. The author, who is also a personal friend, has spent a lifetime researching the history and politics of Islam and is a devout Muslim. I would subtitle this book as Islam for intelligent people. Salim Mansur educates us on the difference between Islam, the faith-tradition, and Islamism, "an ideology fascistic and totalitarian in impuse and action, masquerading as religion". This very important book has chapters on the historical Muhammad, the historical Qur'an, and why it is important to face up to the problem of Islamism. Mansur tackles the issue of Arab and Muslim antisemitism head one, and potential readers should understand that he has been active in Jewish-Muslim reconciliation for years. The Muslim world is going through a civil war right now and the West must help all Muslims interested in accepting modernity. Buy this book and read it, and buy it for a friend. Don't miss this opportunity to educate yourself.

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Wilberforce

A Muslim intellectual's case for Islamic reform, pluralism and the separation of Mosque and state

April 29, 2018

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Salim Mansur attempts to apprise the reader of the difference between Islam as a personal belief system and “Islamism” as a predominantly ‘political’ system - one that uses religion as a means to circumvent the limitations and rules that secular political parties and governments impose on ‘ typical’ political organizations. Islamism is a “distortion” and a misuse of historic Islam and has an agenda that includes deception and subjugation – its objective being to dominate the host culture by the imposition of man-made Sharia’h (Islamic law)combining it with a politically oriented religious ideology.
In ‘western’ democracies, Islamists use entryism to penetrate the host country’s political system under the pretense of joining and supporting existing popular political parties until such time as they have sufficient numbers to implement changes. Salim warns against these organizations and their affiliates who cause dissention, conflict and mayhem throughout the Muslim world and discusses their origins and their distinctives - pointing out the philosophical differences between various sects and schools within Islam.
Mansur is a ‘reformist’ Muslim in the sense that he sees a parallel between the effects of the protestant reformation, modernity and the enlightenment on the Christian church and ‘western’ society in general and he reminds us of the conflicts and turbulence it endured from its apostolic inception right up until the time of the 16th century reformation and the civilizational clash with the Church of Rome, the ecclesiastical establishment, and various monarchies. The inception of the printing press, the great advances in science, global exploration and the advancement of education climaxed by the violence of the great wars during the twentieth century resulted in this transition from the medieval into the post-modern age of information , communication and global commerce.
He argues that the violence and apparent anti-Semitism portrayed in the life of Mohammed, in the sword verses of the Quran, and in the traditions (commentaries) need to be understood within the context of the times and conditions in which they occurred, including the limits and circumstances under which they occurred. He spends considerable ink arguing his case and sites several respected scholars in presenting his thesis, concluding that Islam is essentially respectful of ‘people of the book’ and venerates the prophets of the Old Testament (Judaism) as well as Jesus and his mother in the New Testament.
This book is a must read for both Muslim and non-Muslim who want to know the ‘reform’ position of this movement that is growing within Islam and who not only support modernity, pluralism and democracy, but also believe in the separation of Mosque and state. Salim also explains the politics of the middle- east, and current international trends within Islam. He discusses how he sees future possibilities which include the legitimate state of Israel and the effects that modernity can bring.
Dr. Mansur’s vast knowledge of politics, European, British and American history, as well as Islamic history, and his lucid and engaging writing style hold the reader’s attention from beginning to end providing special insights and observations that are helpful in trying to understand the complexities of this very intriguing and important subject which significantly impacts our changing world.

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