Khaled Abou El Fadl Research Articles

Pendekatan Hermeneutika Negosiatif-Otoritatif Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority, and Women Pemikiran Khaled M Abou El Fadl

This study discusses how Khaled Abou El Fadl thinks in interpreting religious texts, namely the Qur'an and Hadith. In this case, it is done to be able to understand a religious text which is done by means of negotiation between the text, the writer, and the reader. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method, with library research as the type of this research. The data and data sources were taken from books, journals, and the works of Khaled Abou El Fadl. The documentation method is used as a data collection method, while for data analysis using content analysis. In.this.study, it can.be.seen.the results of Khaled Abou El.Fadl's hermeneutical interpretation of a religious text, namely the Qur'an and Hadith. This can determine the form of interpretation by negotiating between the text (text), author (author), and reader (reader) with a triadic pattern, namely an equilateral triangle, so that all posts have the same portion. Khaled's thought in the interpretation of this text is a renewal to be able to understand the text of the Qur'an and Hadith as the object of this interpretation.

Criticism of the Ideological Interpretation of the Concept of Democracy (Shura) in the Tafsir of Al-Wa'ie: Hermeneutic Analysis of Khaled Abou El-Fadl

Democracy is an issue that is still popular for debate, especially as it is described in Islamic studies where Islam and democracy were born from different cultures of politics. This article used library research with an authoritative hermeneutical analysis by Khaled Abou El-Fadl. The objective of this article is to explain that the concept of democracy in general did not contradict the values of the Islamic tradition in the Quran. In this article, it is clear and shown that Rokhmat S. Labib’s interpretation was included or categorized as an ideological interpretation. Labib stressed that democracy was a system that had to be banned because it contains aspects of secularism. He added that someone who follows the ideology of secularism is included in the category of kufr. Based on Khaled Abou El-Fadl's hermeneutics, Labib's interpretation is categorized as authoritarian interpretation because Labib is more concerned with his ideology. Apart from that, Labib’s interpretation is very limited on writing his tafsir. In his writing, Labib just relies on limited reference and using some verses that support his ideology rather than comprehensively explain the context of the verses he interprets. In the end, all the arguments in Labib’s interpretation show us his desire to make Islamic sharia as the highest independence ideology which supports people's lives in various aspects.

Reconstruction of Sharia Understanding with the Humanistic Paradigm: Formulating Khaled Abou El Fadl's Idea of Sharia with the Norm Leveling Theory

This paper examines Khaled Abou El Fadl’s thoughts that focus on applying humanistic Sharia. Khaled considers the spread of Sharia with a humanistic pattern important because of the problem of not realizing the ideals of Islamic teachings that uphold justice, welfare, and other universal values at the level of reality for Muslims who experience backwardness and alienation. According to Khaled, this happened due to a misunderstanding in understanding the Sharia, resulting in a wrong practice. The misunderstanding that gave rise to this wrong practice has global implications, assuming that Islam is a non-humanistic religion. By using the analytical description method, this paper reformulates the humanistic Sharia proposed by Khaled from several of his works and rearranges it based on the theory of the leveling norms.

Moralitas Diskursus Dan Otoritas Wacana Keagamaan Di Media Sosial

The progress of the digital world influences the structure of religious discourse. The development of religious discourse in digital space, especially social media, has run wild without control. One-sided truth claims are getting stronger. So Khaled Abou el-Fadl's offer deserves consideration, namely the morality of discourse as the authority for religious discourse on social media. This research focuses on how the morality of discourse can be used as a basis for the power of religious discourse on social media. This research is descriptive-qualitative, which is a conceptual study using library data. Through a holistic approach, the reference data is analyzed through data reduction and data presentation. The data presented are adapted to relevant perspectives, interpreted based on theories, classified into concepts, and narrated in a new understanding of the phenomenon under study. As a result, discourse morality procedures in the authority structure of religious discourse on social media need to be upheld so that belief in God as the highest authority is not replaced by unilateral claims. In addition, the morality of discourse can also be the basis for government policies to regulate and limit religious discourse discussed on social media.

Prioritizing Religious Freedoms: Islam, Pakistan, and the Human Rights Discourse

Abstract Religious freedoms of minorities in Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan are compromised due to structural issues as well as social and historical concerns. For instance, the abuse of the blasphemy law has led to minority communities facing threats and violence. And in a country where religious scholars are often absent from, if not against, discourses about human rights, the religious rights of minorities remain a secular and hence culturally unsound discourse. There is thus a need for two parallel movements. One, an awareness within Muslim communities about the need to engage with religious freedoms, and hence the modern human rights regime, as an essentially Islamic process requiring reform from within. And two, the human rights structure also giving religion its due since religious freedoms are part of, and engender, many other rights as well. In this article, a case is made for this dual process, by exploring the work of scholars of Islam such as Abdullahi An-Na’im and Khaled Abou El Fadl as well as the insecurities of religious scholars in Pakistan who have reacted to human rights as a western agenda.

MUSLIM SCHOLARS INTERPRETATION OF DISCOURSE RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE VERSES: The Cases of Quraish Shihab, Yusuf Qaradawi, and Khaled Abou el-Fadl in Qur’ān 60: 8-9

The discourse of religious tolerance is often overlooked by scholars rather than theoretical. Qur’ān 60: 8-9 is the attitude of the Qur’ān towards tolerance, which is being debated. The discussion revolves around interpreting the verse with its abrogated position (mansūkh), the history of the verses calling for jihād (war) against non-Muslims, and the modern context. The interpretations of these two verses were studied by three different Muslim scholars, from different countries, and with different scientific backgrounds, namely Quraish Shihab (Indonesia), Yusuf Qaradawi (Qatar), and Khaled Abou el-Fadl (United States). Some of the important points of their opinion on the verse are; First, Shihab interprets this verse as the basic principle of interfaith relations between Muslims and non-Muslims with God in human relations. Qaradawi places this verse as a manifestation of tolerance and wasaṭiyyah (moderate) attitude in Islamic law. Meanwhile, el-Fadl considers this verse to function as a counter to the verses of war (jihād) which have been misinterpreted by traditionalists in Islamic thought. Second, Qaradawi and el-Fadl reject the literal and ahistorical meaning of Qur’ān 60: 8-9 by people who, according to them, cannot see dynamic Islam with contemporary issues. Third, from the aspect of interfaith relations, Shihab and Qaradawi have the same voice in inter-religious relations.

THE HERMENEUTICS OF KHALED M. ABOU EL-FADL AND ITS RELEVANCE WITH RELIGIOUS MODERATION IN INDONESIA

Hermeneutics is an interpretation method that develops in the study of texts. Its usage in the horizon of Islamic text study (Qur’an and Hadith) is not an exception. One figure who discusses different areas of Islamic law is Khaled M. Abou El-Fadl. Khaled has analyzed various texts in Islamic law and their relation to people's lives. This study attempts to explore the thoughts of Khaled M. Abou El-Fadl, especially regarding hermeneutics in analyzing texts and its relation with religious moderation in Indonesia. This study implements the literature review method, where the researcher reviews several works of Khaled M. Abou El-Fadl and other relevant articles. The results of this study reveal that the core problems of authoritarianism in interpretation are the methodological procedural errors of the three elements, namely: the author, text, and reader. The meaning of a text should occur from a complex, interactive, dynamic, and dialectical process between the three elements. Interpreters cannot avoid his subjectivity, therefore an interpreter should fulfill five conditions namely honesty, sincerity, thoroughness, rationality, and self-control. Khaled Abou el-Fadl's hermeneutics is very relevant as a concept of understanding religious teachings to foster and maintain religious moderation, namely mutual understanding between religions and between denominations within a religion.

Reinventing the Human Dignity in Islamic Law Discourse: The Wasatiyah Approaches from Khaled Abou El-Fadl to the Interreligious Relation

Violence in the name of religion has never completely disappeared from discourse on religious life. Surprisingly, Islamic law is used as the basis for committing acts of violence damaging interreligious relations. There is a gap between the goals of Islamic law and practice in society. This article aims to unpack the wasatiyah approach provided by Khaled Abou El-Fadl in Islamic law discourses. This research is a qualitative method using library research, which obtains information from books, articles, and journals. This research concludes that El-Fadl provides an essential concept known in contemporary Islamic law as al-wasatiyah by integrating various scientific disciplines to strengthen human dignity. El-Fadl offers a moderate-humanist approach as a system that is considered more holistic and comprehensive in Islamic law, especially in constructing texts, understanding the context, and optimizing legal reasoning based on maqasid al-shariah through independent reasoning. This article shows that El-Fadl allows greetings to non-Muslims, greetings of Christmas to non-Muslims, interacts with non-Muslims, and elects non-muslim leaders. El-Fadl believes in strengthening the theological basis of pluralism, which requires tolerance as a pathway for creating a mutually productive life together.

Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and ToleranceHaifa Republic: A Democratic Future for Israel

Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and ToleranceHaifa Republic: A Democratic Future for Israel

Islamic Political Thought after the Arab Uprising: Post-“Islamic Democracy” and the Role of the Theory of the “Objectives of Shariah （Maqāṣid al-Sharī ‘a）” in Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Political Thought

Islamic Political Thought after the Arab Uprising: Post-“Islamic Democracy” and the Role of the Theory of the “Objectives of Shariah （Maqāṣid al-Sharī ‘a）” in Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Political Thought

On vampire squid and pie in the sky - Reflections on greed, altruism, global capitalism, Muslim and other ethics

This article points to some of the ethical short-comings of global capitalism in historical and contemporary contexts. Comparison of late eighteenth/early nineteenth century capitalist enterprises including the British and Dutch East India Companies and contemporary investment banking houses including Goldman Sachs indicates that ethical problems inherent in global capitalism have not changed significantly over the centuries. The analysis presented here builds on explicit critiques of capitalism by the eighteenth-century economist Adam Smith and contemporary critiques by linguist and social critic Noam Chomsky and implicit ones Reggae star Jimmy Cliff. Islamic finance is often described as an alternative to capitalisms that avoid greed based ethnical problems. This is not necessarily the case if Islamic finance is merely fiqh compliant. The fact that Goldman Sachs and other Western banks have entered the Islamic finance business buttresses this position. The economic ethics of the eleventh/twelfth century Muslim theologian and philosopher Hamid al-Ghazali and the contempory Muslim legal scholar Khaled Abou el Fadl offer possible correctives. If, however, Evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis is correct and greed is a basic component of human nature, the full realization of any ethical economics is unlikely.

Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Understanding of Sharia in Theory and in Practice. A Critical Analysis

Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Understanding of Sharia in Theory and in Practice. A Critical Analysis

Kajian Pendekatan Hermeneutika dalam Tafsir Al-Qur’an Perspektif Ulama Muslim Kontemporer

Hermeneutics of the Qur'an with its characters, namely Abu Zayd, Ali Harb, Arkoun, Hasan Hanafi, Syahrur, Khaled Abou el-Fadl, and Abdullah Saeed, has a hermeneutic method from the point of view of different theories and approaches. This paper aims to examine the study of the hermeneutics of the Qur'an from the perspective of contemporary scholars. The results of the study prove that the classical scholar's scholarship in the study of the Qur'anic science is different from the scientific method approach of contemporary scholars. This has implications for the civilizational culture of Tafsir Al-Qur'an. Therefore, this paper is very supportive to be used as a source of knowledge related to the study of the Qur'an.

PENAFSIRAN KONTEKSTUAL AL-QUR’AN: TELAAH ATAS PEMIKIRAN ABDULLAH SAEED

This article discusses Abdullah Saeed's thought on contextual exegesis of the Quran. The background of Abdullah Saeed's thought on the importance of conducting contextual exegesis was based on the solid domination of literal (textual) commentary of the Quran, particularly regarding ethics-legal verses. Based on Saeed's point of view, ethic-legal verses commentary must account for social changes to support the close relationship between Quran and the current Muslims. Several intellectual figures influenced Abdullah Saeed's thoughts related to contextual exegeses, such as Fazlur Rahman, Ghulam Ahmad Parvez, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Mohammed Arkoun, Farid Esack, and Khaled Abou El Fadl. The theoretical foundations of the Quran contextual exegesis proposed by Abdullah Saeed can be traced back through his notion on revelation concept, the flexibility of meaning, and text meaning as a commentary.

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF ISLAMIC LAW. Edited by Khaled AbouEl Fadl, Ahmad AtifAhmad, Said FaresHassan. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2019. Pp. 449. Cloth, $157.65, Paper, $52.95. N.p.

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF ISLAMIC LAW. Edited by Khaled AbouEl Fadl, Ahmad AtifAhmad, Said FaresHassan. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2019. Pp. 449. Cloth, $157.65, Paper, $52.95. N.p.

Fostering Human Dignity and Freedom

At the beginning of Nostra aetate, the Church calls for mutual understanding with Muslims in the interests of “peace, liberty, social justice, and moral values.” This paper strives to achieve such an understanding in light of the fragile state of democracy in today’s world. The paper first presents the Church’s approach to democracy through an analysis of the work of the philosopher Jacques Maritain and the Second Vatican Council. It then presents representative views from Islam: the work of the Sunni legal scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl and the Shi’ite scholar Naser Ghobadzadeh. By appealing to the Jesuit scholarDavid Hollenbach’smethodology of “dialogic universalism,” the paper argues finally that there is a rich confluence between the two traditions: Their basic commitment to the dignity and freedom of the human person implies a respect for pluralism, a reverence for reason, and a call for self-transcendence, all of which can serve to enhance democracy.

Negotiative Hermeneutics of Khaled Abou El Fadl: Truth Postponement and Negotiating The Meaning of Text in Speaking In God's Name

This study aims to map the ontological and epistemological aspects of Negotiative Hermeneutics through a philosophical approach. Negotiative Hermeneutics is a new hermeneutic model initiated by Khaled Abou El Fadl to criticize gender-biased and misogyny fatwas issued by Al-Lajnah ad-Dā`imah li al-Buhūts al-'Ilmiyyah wa al-Iftā`, or the Fatwa Committee Saudi Arabia. Prioritizing texts understanding through a psychological, social context, and other perspective makes this model different from other hermeneutics. Negotiative Hermeneutics more focuses on the negotiation process for sustainable in the three pillars of hermeneutics: author, text, and reader. This iterative process on linguistic, cultural, etc. This study analyzed the weaknesses of the Negotiative Hermeneutics negotiation movement based on the misogyny fatwa case of the Saudi Arabian Fatwa Committee using the critical discourse analysis method. The results indicated that the text is ontologically sacred and authoritative; authorship of the Quran and the Prophet Sunnah stopped at the first author. The epistemological viewed meaning is obtained from endless negotiations among the three pillars of hermeneutics. The weakness is Khaled's disregard for the fact that the ulama's fatwa depends on royal authority. Last, the significance of this paper, especially regarding the shortcomings in Khaled's theory, is to present evidence that a fatwa produced by the ulama's ijtihad is not autonomous at all, even from the ulama itself, because it is also the result of a bargaining chip between ulama and the royal authority

Khaled Abou El Fadl and Amina Wadud’s (re)politicisation of the mosque and employment of social media as a means of shaping religious identity based on values of progressive Islam

This paper explores the employment of social media and Islamic religious sermons, as a means of dissemination of progressive Islam, in the process of shaping the religious identities of Muslims in the twenty-first century. This research is a case study that focusses on Khaled Abou El Fadl, a prominent progressive Muslim scholar, and his political activism in the mosque in the form of khutbahs (sermons). The presentation of the importance and development of the mosque from solely a place of worship to a place of political mobilisation creates a historical framework necessary for the understanding and evaluation of the case study. Amina Wadud’s activism in the mosque, and the way this activism is presented on the social media, is used as a means of comparison of the effectiveness of both scholars’ efforts. Given that the main channels of communication for both these scholars are social media, the paper presents the main points of the way the internet has affected notions of authority and knowledge in Islam in the twenty-first century C.E. The existing literature regarding Islam and social media focuses heavily on radicalisation and promotion of conservative Islam. There is an absence of scholarly work regarding social media and progressive Islam, and this article attempts to fill this gap in academia. The research included in this article was carried out in London, between June and September 2019, and is based on heterogeneous sources available online, such as newspaper and journal articles, audio-visual material, social media content and academic publications. It presents and analyses the media content and evolution of the said khutbahs as recorded and published on YouTube. It also evaluates their impact on the target audience through observation of the comments available on YouTube and Abou El Fadl’s relevant references in the videos.

Democracy from the Point of View of Islamic Political Ethics: Khaled Abou El Fadl’s Doctrine

This paper focuses on the analysis of the Islamic thinker Kh. A. ElFadl’s political and legal conception. This conception assesses the potential of the Islamic tradition for the legitimization of democracy. We indicates that El-Fadl’s concept is not another ‘Islamic democracy’ project, but an analysis of the relationship between democratic ethos and Islamic political values. It is demonstrated that an adequate understanding of this relationship requires a comprehension of Qur’anic anthropology — the idea of human call, in particular. The logical transition from acceptance of God’s sovereignty and the status of man as His earthly governor (a successive authority’) to the inadmissibility of usurpation of power is considered reasonable. The article proves that El-Fadl allows historical variability of the forms of checks and balances that impede usurpation of power. Therefore, he emphasizes precisely the democratic ethos, and not a particular political theory or a specific political regime. The irregularity of the monopolization of a democratic ethos by the Western culture, on the one hand, and the monopolization of Shari‘a by Islamists, on the other, is thoroughly noted. In the conclusion the author outlines a general understanding of the nature of Shari‘a and the Shari‘ah foundations of political practice in the concept of El-Fadl.

Relationality and the Gadamerian “Horizontverschmelzung”: Khaled Abou El Fadl

While the notion of philosophical hermeneutics and its impact on discourses of Islamic law and ethics have been a continuous feature of comparative and religious study in the recent past, this has tended to take the form of theoretical and largely textual hermeneutical readings. This article aims to examine the instances of the occurrence of one particular aspect of the philosophical hermeneutical canon, the Gadamerian notion of horizontverschmelzung, within the work of the contemporary Islamic legal thinker, Khaled Abou El Fadl. In doing so, the article focuses on the way in which the notion of horizontverschmelzung is used by Khaled Abou El Fadl both explicitly, in his textual work, and implicitly, in the performance of his broader methodological project. This dual dynamic is made apparent in his work that aims to engage with debates that are internal to the Muslim community, such as those over the process of the interpretation of the Shari'a, and those that involve the Muslim community's relationship with the West, such as those to do with representation and identity. This dynamic is a vital consideration for the further understanding of contemporary forms of philosophical hermeneutics in the islamicate context and the legal and social work of Khaled Abou El Fadl.