Publi * Islam and open society * 6 fév 2020

Publication d’un dossier en anglais sur le portail CAIRN sur “Islam and open society” – Read the full dossier.


Présentation par les coordinateurs du dossier

Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals question the extent to which Islam is truly compatible with the concept of an “open” society, i.e., one that is democratic in the full sense of the word, and in particular respects freedom of expression and promotes religious tolerance. The debate goes back to the early Middle Ages and has resurfaced periodically since the mid-nineteenth century. Here we present various perspectives on the issue. All highlight the importance and urgency of the question, but do so from a different angle and without necessarily reaching the same conclusions.

Philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne, author of a book that shares the title of this dossier (Islam and Open Society), recalls the context in which the “fear of philosophy” ultimately triumphed in the late twelfth century. Medievalist Alain de Libera shows that Averroës was by no means the Enlightenment philosopher that he has long been depicted as. Sociologist Philippe d’Iribarne concludes that Islam and democracy are fundamentally incompatible. Conversely, philosopher Anwar Moghith shows how Egyptian intellectuals in the late nineteenth century adopted Enlightenment ideas, and even Darwinism, while Meryem Sebti explains that unlike his predecessor Avicenna, Al-Farabi reflected the critical tradition of ancient Greek philosophy.

We give carte blanche to Pakistani philosopher Sobia Tahir, who explains the historical reasons for Islam’s tendency in recent decades to fall back on fundamentalist positions, illustrating a certain revival of the “fear of philosophy.”


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Jeanne Pawella (24 février 2020). Publi * Islam and open society * 6 fév 2020. Radicalisations. Consulté le 14 mai 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/t5zu


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