[Dean's World] Ali Eteraz: Islamic Counter-Reformation

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Posted by Ali Eteraz:
Islamic Counter-Reformation
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1191391389.shtml


   Part iii of the series on Islamic reform at Guardian is now available.
   [1]Islam's counter-reformation.

   This is how the editors decided to subtitle it:

     After two centuries of hibernation, traditionalist Muslim clerics
     were abruptly woken by Osama bin Laden.

   I feel that many people, Muslims and non-Muslim alike like to deny
   that this movement -- by the 'ulama/clerics -- is under way,
   salivating for radical individualism instead. But that's just denial.
   As it is, the clerical movement represents where the Muslim mainstream
   is situated. Did you know, for example, that [2]Hamza Yusuf, a
   prominent American cleric, got to be on Egyptian TV during Ramadan
   (the premier viewing time in the Arab world)? Or that clerics dominate
   the time on the satellite TV channels that target Pakistan and India?
   Yes, that's right, dominate the channels, not just the religious
   programming. This includes liberal stations like [3]Geo TV.

   So, I stick by my point that the 'counter-reformation' is a movement
   to be reckoned with.

   Part I of the series was [4]Roots of Islamic reform, and Part II was
   the [5]Islamic Reformation.

References

   1. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2007/10/an_islamic_counterreformation.html
   2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_Yusuf
   3. http://www.geo.tv/
   4. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2007/09/the_roots_of_islamic_reform.html
   5. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2007/09/the_islamic_reformation.html