Fostering Community & Islamic Literacy
Imam Marc offers an insight into the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., one that is perhaps a bit closer to the historical Martin verses the celebrated (and secularized!) MLK.
You can read Imam Marc original article, Martin Luther King Jr. – The Ideal American Negro, here.
In this session, Imam Marc directs a discussion of John Wesley Robb’s The Reverent Skeptic – A Critical Inquiry into the Religion of Secular Humanism. It’s in conjunction with Linda Raeder’s article, Mill’s Religion of Humanity – Consequences and Implications.
“All … forms of humanism have at least two things in common: (1) A concern for human good, both individually and collectively, and (2) A belief that man must resolve his problems alone and that there is no reality, above or below or outside of man, that can provide a resource or energizing power that will assist him in facing the exigencies of human life and society. Man and nature are all there is.” — John Wesley Robb
“Another type of secularism that is most prevalent among intellectuals is what might be called a spiritual secularism, which places its emphasis upon the life of the creative mind. Some have called it the new religion of culture. It stresses the arts, in all of their forms, and places the creative expressions of men and women throughout history as prime examples of the transcendent power of the human mind and spirit to overcome the vicissitudes of daily life. It provides moments of self-transcendence for its adherents through the theatre, the visual arts, a wide variety of literary forms and through music. It glorifies the outreach of the human spirit toward higher and more expressive forms of creativity. It is a source for the nourishment of the human spirit and is often a replacement for the self-transcending experience that traditional forms of religion attempt to provide.” — John Wesley Robb
Full audio followed by sections.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Also episode #116 from The Mad Mamluks’ podcast, Somewhere in Time, with Joseph Kaminski.
From a conversation Imam Marc had with Dr. Sherman Jackson about secularism and its effects on the Muslim imagination.
In this episode of the Middle Ground Podcast, we share some more insights into our Saturday class, The Sherman Jackson Reader, this time discussing such topics as belief, non-belief, and the hegemony of western constructs such as rationalism, and what are its consequences for Muslims and what our potential reactions might be. Full length clip at the bottom.
Excerpts
“On Sensationalism, ISIS and Liberalism”
“Revelation and Talking About Revelation”
“On Prophetic Authority”
“Belief vs. Religion”
ما تَعبُدونَ مِن دونِهِ إِلّا أَسماءً سَمَّيتُموها أَنتُم وَآباؤُكُم ما أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِها مِن سُلطانٍ ۚ إِنِ الحُكمُ إِلّا لِلَّهِ ۚ أَمَرَ أَلّا تَعبُدوا إِلّا إِيّاهُ ۚ ذٰلِكَ الدّينُ القَيِّمُ وَلٰكِنَّ أَكثَرَ النّاسِ لا يَعلَمونَ
“If you don’t serve Him, then you’re serving nothing more than names that you and your ancestors made up, and God gave no one permission to do that. The right to command is for none save God, and He has commanded that you serve nothing besides Him. That’s the straight way of life, but most people don’t understand.” — Qur’an, 12: 40
“On Being A Good Person and Being A Non-Muslim”
“On Modern Understandings of Religion”
“On the Hegemony of Western Norms: Wudu, Rationalism, and the Significance of Ritual”
For other khutbahs and podcasts, see the Middle Ground Podcast.
Notes
Kahn, Jonathan S., and Lloyd, Vincent W. Race And Secularism In America. New York, Columbia University Press, 2016.
Cavanaugh, William T. The Myth Of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict . Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009.
“Time is our most precious commodity.” No. our beliefs and principles are.
The dangers of liberalism and secularism is the ism: that which prioritizes the now over the later.
It’s the reverse of so many things:
وَما أَدري ما يُفعَلُ بي وَلا بِكُم
Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.
لَهُ مُعَقِّباتٌ مِن بَينِ يَدَيهِ وَمِن خَلفِهِ يَحفَظونَهُ مِن أَمرِ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُغَيِّرُ ما بِقَومٍ حَتّىٰ يُغَيِّروا ما بِأَنفُسِهِم ۗ
“Everyone has a succession of angels in front of him and behind him, guarding him by Allah’s command. Allah never changes a people’s state until they change what is in themselves. When Allah desires evil for a people, there is no averting it. They have no protector apart from Him.” Qur’an 13: 11