American Islam

[randy_byers]

There is an interesting exchange going on in Slate between Daniel Benjamin and Reza Aslan that centers on a new book called American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion by Paul M. Barrett. The discussion is more generally about American Muslims, global jihad, the War on Terra, etc. Here's a snippet from yesterday's entry by Benjamin:

I've often wondered if Bin Laden and his followers, with their grim determination to eliminate all "innovation" in the faith, aren't akin to some of the wild Protestants of the first half of the 16th century. With their Salafi emphasis on the direct experience of scripture and the believer's ability to understand the text, they remind me of Luther's notion of "every man a priest." One could even ask whether Bin Laden himself isn't something of a Martin Luther figure, though the head of al-Qaida has none of Luther's skill at theology.

(I once remarked this to a well-known Saudi prince, who instantly replied, "No, he is our Savonarola." That remark floored me and suggested my interlocutor had been thinking about the subject.)

Today's entry by Aslan focuses on how America's War on Terra is a mirror image of the global jihad (both of which perceive the struggle as one between good and evil) and replies to the above in an aside by comparing Bin Laden to Thomas Muentzer, whom I've never heard of but am about to go googling. The idea that Islam is currently undergoing a reformation (or two) is quite intriguing. The view offered of how Islam is mutating in the U.S. offers a lot of food for thought.

Oh, and I like the term "jihadism" ever so much better than "Islamofascism," which seems to be another attempt to tie the War on Terra to a past war that it really has nothing to do with and is nothing like.

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I agree on the undesirability of using the term "Islamofascism." Not only does it sound ugly and awkward, but there are many forms of totalitarian impulse, fascism is only one of these, and religious fanaticism is quite a different one.

The problem with "jihadism" is that "jihad" just means "struggle" and can be applied to any quest to live in accordance with the teachings of Islam. (Whatever those may be: I tried to read the Koran, but gave up quickly.) There's a place in Islam for overcoming injustice, akin to our civil rights movements and such; that would be called jihad. Overcoming one's own drug addiction would be jihad. And so on. The term has been hijacked.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, so much for "jihadism" then!

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

You know what weirds me out? There are Catholics trying to get Savonarola canonized.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's something about that in Wikipedia. It's specifically the Dominicans, I believe, and it is opposed by the Jesuits. Savonarola was a Dominican, so that explains that part, but I'm not sure why the Jesuits specifically lead the opposition to the canonization.

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

Really? Hurray for the Jesuits! Maybe it's because Savonarola was a book-burner.

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell, the whole religion is being hijacked or vilified. Thugs always like to claim God is on their side. It has nothing to do with the religion in question.

The comparison of Bin Laden and Martin Luther baffles me because Bin Laden wants to tell people what to believe, and Luther's "every man (and woman) is a priest" is quite the opposite of that. Luther also lacked the will to murder or have it done one his behalf -- something others had no lack of will for. I could buy the comparison with Savonarola, especially since there is a mist of myths swirling about both of them, and the truth is hard to see.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

The comparison to Thomas Muentzer ends up being interesting. He was a protege of Luther's who was critical of corruption in the Church. He was too radical for Luther, and he eventually got involved in an armed uprising of peasants that did not end well for him.

My impression is that Bin Laden is critical of corruption in Muslim society and wants to reform it. That may be where the comparison to Luther comes in, although it's probably not a good fit.

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

I think I understand what you are saying.
You might find V.S. Naipal's 25+ y/o book "Among the Believers" of interest.
Current statements of this can be found today at
www.beliefnet.com, (1) there is an interview with Singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and three related article; (2)an interesting point-counterpoint almost with an interview with Dinesh D'Souza; (3) a response "Crunchy Con on What Dinesh D'Souza Can't See," which argues some of what you are saying; and (4) a blog by David Kuo who interviewed D'Souza, and includes more of that discussion than is in the article. I hope you have a moment to look at these.