Category: Islamic Sciences

Teaching Other Faiths About Islam

Over the course of the last century, we have witnessed a revival of religion and religious traditions, contrary to speculations about the gradual decline of religion in society. While in the fifties, the religious landscape of America was reflected in Will Herberg’s book, Protestant, Catholic, and Jew, in the sixties, theologians were talking about the impact of secularization on religion and theology. The dominant theories expected religion to decline, especially in the public realm, and thought that it should be marginalized, limited to private life, and the development of religion would be succeeded by science. Today, in American academia and the public sphere, we are witnessing the study of world religions, interreligious dialogues, comparative religion studies become part of the educational curriculum.

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Academic Articles and Chapter Books

The Muslim World

In October 2014, Dr. Alwani wrote an article called Maqāṣid Qur᾽āniyya: A Methodology on Evaluating Modern Challenges and Fiqh al-Aqalliyyāt for a special issue of The Muslim World journal entitled “Judaism and Islam in America.”

She also served as the co-editor of the issue. You can find the articles here. See pages 385–388.

Interfaith Just PeaceMaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War

In 2012, Dr. Alwani contributed a book chapter called “Conflict Resolution: Muslim reflection” to the book “Interfaith Just PeaceMaking.” The chapter demonstrates how the Islamic model protects the solidarity of the community and emphasizes the importance of a clear, structured process for solving conflicts. You can read the chapter here.

Setting the Record Straight: Aisha and the Tradition Reclaiming a Lost Legacy

In 2002, Dr. Alwani wrote this paper called “Aicha Istidrakat and Their Methodological Premises: Reclaiming a Stunted Tradition” to draw attention to an important and under-researched area in hadith scholarship, identified with a revisionary body of literature that takes for its scope the verification and validation of prophetic tradition. You can read the paper published in the journal of Women and Civilization here.

Critical Reading in al-Ghazālī’s Usul al Fiah Legal theory Books Qira’a fi Kutub al-Ghazālī al Usulia

In 2001, Dr. Alwani wrote an article analyzing the work of Imam al-Ghazālī in jurisprudence. You can read the article here.

The Quran as the Final Arbiter of Diverse Interpretations – The Mosque in Morgantown

The Mosque in Morgantown brings to the forefront critical issues regarding the identity of the American Muslim community, the position of women in the mosque and the authority to interpret religious texts. This essay specifically addresses the question of Qur’anic interpretation, which is at the heart of any juristic interpretation. Some of the questions brought forth in the documentary are ones that have been debated among scholars throughout Islamic history. Other questions, however, are a product of the unique circumstances that face the Muslim American community in the twenty-first century. This essay explores the following: Who possesses the authority to interpret the Qur’an? What are the limits of Qur’anic interpretation? If the Qur’an is universal, then how do its interpretations continue to be relevant for every age and society? When there is a multiplicity of interpretations, how do we determine which interpretation best reflects God’s intention?

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