Thursday, March 6, 2014
Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda: Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation
The increasingly pressing and depressing situation of Planet Earth poses urgent ethical questions for Christians. But, as Cynthia Moe-Lobeda argues, the future of the earth is not simply a matter of protecting species and habitats but of rethinking the very meaning of Christian ethics. The earth crisis cannot be understood apart from the larger human crisis—economic equity, social values, and human purpose are bound up with the planet's survival. In a sense, she says, the whole earth is a moral community.
Reorienting Christian ethics from its usual anthropocentrism to an ecocentrism entails a new framework that Moe-Lobeda lays out in her first chapters, culminating in a creative rethinking of how it is that we understand morally. With this "moral epistemology" in place, she unfolds her notion of "moral vision" and applies it to the present situation in a full-fledged earth-honoring, justice-seeking Christian ethical stance.
"This book is a gift to all …. consumers looking for a way out of their addiction. Those of us (myself included) who know our excessive consumption is causing ecological and economic disasters should read Professor Moe-Lobeda's new book. It is the best one-volume analysis of our moral dilemma I know of and, even better, it suggests principles and practices to help deal with it." --Sallie McFague, Vancouver School of Theology
"Cynthia Moe-Lobeda's Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological and Economic Transformation takes the form of a powerful contribution to Christian ethics, but in fact it is also a major contribution to anyone in any religious or spiritual tradition who seeks to maintain both a commitment to God and to global healing and transformation. Easily accessible and charming in presentation, deep in its ability to confront difficult issues squarely and in a nuanced way, courageous in insisting that we see reality not only as it is but as it could be if we were willing to be "unrealistic" for a few moments, manifesting daring of thought combined with a pervasive humility—this is a true classic of spiritual progressive consciousness, packed full of ideas that should be taught in every college and university and religious seminary, every church, synagogue, mosque and ashram!" --Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor of Tikkun Magazine, Chair of The Network of Spiritual Progressives
"This is a grand prophetic book motivated by love and focused on justice—social justice, ecological justice, and dignity for ‘the least of these.’ Don't miss it!" --Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary
"Cynthia Moe-Lobeda's Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological and Economic Transformation takes the form of a powerful contribution to Christian ethics, but in fact it is also a major contribution to anyone in any religious or spiritual tradition who seeks to maintain both a commitment to God and to global healing and transformation. Easily accessible and charming in presentation, deep in its ability to confront difficult issues squarely and in a nuanced way, courageous in insisting that we see reality not only as it is but as it could be if we were willing to be "unrealistic" for a few moments, manifesting daring of thought combined with a pervasive humility—this is a true classic of spiritual progressive consciousness, packed full of ideas that should be taught in every college and university and religious seminary, every church, synagogue, mosque and ashram!" --Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor of Tikkun Magazine, Chair of The Network of Spiritual Progressives
"This is a grand prophetic book motivated by love and focused on justice—social justice, ecological justice, and dignity for ‘the least of these.’ Don't miss it!" --Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary
About the Author
Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda teaches Christian ethics at Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry and in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. She is author of Healing a Broken World (Fortress Press, 2002) and Public Church: For the Life of the World (Lutheran Voices, 2004) and is co-author of Saint Francis and the Foolishness of God (Orbis, 1993) and Say to This Mountain: Mark's Story of Discipleship (Orbis, 1996).http://www.amazon.com/Resisting-Structural-Evil-Ecological-Economic-Vocation/dp/1451462670/
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Khalil Abdur-Rashid: "New Paradigms of Muslim Community Leadership"
http://vimeo.com/41310763
Khalil Abdur-Rashid delivers a talk at the Fourth Annual Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Conference entitled "New Paradigms of Muslim Community Leadership," Harvard University, April 7-8, 2012.
Imam Khalil Abdul-Rashid is a PhD student at Columbia University, specializing in Islamic Law and Bioethics. He is an adjunct assistant professor at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and teaches a course at NYU on Islamic Law. He also serves as Columbia University’s Muslim Religious Life Advisor and as Imam and Executive Director of Iqra Mosque in Brooklyn, New York.
Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah calls for a revival of "The jurisprudence of peace"
2014-03-02 13:22:31WAM ABU DHABI, March 2nd, 2014 (WAM) -- In a recent gathering of scholars planning the landmark Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah, one of the Muslim world's pre-eminent scholars and jurists, and Chairman of the Forum's Scientific Committee, has called for a revival of what he termed "the Jurisprudence of Peace (Fiqh al Silm)" in Muslim societies, emphasising that a condition of peace can only exist if hearts are filled with love and goodwill to all humanity, a precept that is deeply rooted in the teachings of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him.
Sheikh bin Bayyah stressed that spreading a culture of peace was critically important at a time when the Muslim world was plagued by sectarianism, extremist ideologies, civil violence and civil war. "Chaos, conflicts and wars do not guarantee human rights or, in fact, anything at all. Peace is an ultimate human objective and fundamental human right that supersedes Islamic legislation as a guarantor of other rights," he said.
He explained that this was the primary motivation for launching the "Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies", which will be hosted by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi at the St. Regis Abu Dhabi on March 9th and 10th.
According to the Sheikh, in order to restore the principle of peace as a priority certain areas of Islamic jurisprudence, which have been misunderstood and misinterpreted, such as the doctrine of jihad and the concept of 'promoting virtue and preventing vice', need to be clearly defined, as well as the nature of social relationships and civil peace.
He explained that these misunderstandings and misinterpretations are caused by three grave trends: the widening gap between a true understanding of Qur'anic commands and activism based on ignorance; 2) a misconception that ends justify the means; and 3) the abandonment of wisdom, justice, compassion and goodwill, that are four values that underpin and are intrinsic to the application of religious law (Sharia).
Sheikh bin Bayyah, who is the Director of the UK-based Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance and one of the world's leading Maliki jurists, called on journalists across the Muslim world to report news responsibly and objectively, without igniting controversy, sewing seeds of confusion and inciting communal hatred, given the parlous state many Muslim societies are in. Muslim journalists, he said, as members of the Community, have a responsibility to try to defuse civil and political strife and conflict, not exacerbate it.
He also called on governments across the Muslim world to bring men and women of knowledge and wisdom across many disciplines and professions into the process of establishing a platform to prepare for achieve peace in their societies in the same way that governments have a platform and infrastructure for war. "Just as war enlists the best and brightest of people and changes societies, it is absolutely imperative for peace to be given the same priority," he said.
WAM/AAMIR/Moran
Source
Classes Taught at Barnard/Columbia by Professor Najam Haider
Islam in the Post-Colonial World
Barnard College/Columbia University, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2013
This course focuses on the multiple manifestations of the Islamic vision in the modern world. The semester begins with a survey of the central elements that unite a diverse community of Muslim peoples from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. This includes a look at the Prophet and the Qur’ān and the ways in which both were actualized in the development of jurisprudence and sufism/mysticism. The course then shifts to the modern period, examining the impact of colonization and the rise of secular modernity on the Muslim world. Topics range from intellectual attempts at societal/religious reform (e.g., Islamic Revivalism, Modernism, Progressivism) and political re-interpretations of traditional Islamic motifs (e.g., Third-Worldism and Jihadist discourse) to traditional efforts at accommodating scientific and technological innovations (e.g., evolution, bioethics). The class ends by examining the efforts of American and European Muslim communities to carve out distinct spheres of identity in the larger global Muslim community (umma) through expressions of popular cultural (e.g., Hip-Hop).
Revolution and Revival in the Muslim World
Barnard College/Columbia University, Spring 2011
This class focuses on the history and development of revolutionary movements in the Muslim world. The course begins by examining the life of the Prophet with a particular emphasis on his efforts at socio-ethical reform and his role as the political leader of a nascent religious community. The remainder of the semester is devoted towards the analysis of pre-modern and modern movements/groups who utilized this original template to justify their own versions of an ideal “Islamic” community. The class includes a detailed study of the origins of Kharijism, the early Umayyad civil wars, the ‘Abbāsid Revolution, the rise of Ismā‘īlism as manifest in the establishment of a Fāṭimid Caliphate and the Nizārī “Assassin” order, the emergence of Shī’ī political activism with the Safavid state, and the growth of apocalyptic reform movements such as the Bābīs in Iran. It culminates with a close examination of the ideology of modern Jihadist groups found in Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as al-Qā’ida.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Professor Andrew Delbanco at the American Studies Program @Columbia University
Professor Andrew Delbanco, winner of the 2006 Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates, is the author of Melville: His World and Work (2005), which won the Lionel Trilling Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in biography. The Death of Satan (1995), Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now (1997), and The Real American Dream (1999) were named notable books by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. The Puritan Ordeal (1989) won the Lionel Trilling Award. Among his edited books are Writing New England (2001), The Portable Abraham Lincoln (1992), volume two of The Sermons of Ralph Waldo Emerson (with Teresa Toulouse), and, with Alan Heimert, The Puritans in America (1985).
Andrew Delbanco's essays appear regularly in The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, Raritan, and other journals, on topics ranging from American literary and religious history to contemporary issues in higher education. In 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named by Time Magazine as "America's Best Social Critic." In 2003, he was named New York State Scholar of the Year by the New York Council for the Humanities.
Professor Delbanco has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was a member of the inaugural class of fellows at the New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers. He is a trustee of the National Humanities Center and the Library of America, and has served as Vice President of PEN American Center. Since 1995 he has held the Julian Clarence Levi Professor Chair in the Humanities at Columbia University.
His most recent book, Melville: His World and Work, was published in the United States (2005) by Alfred A. Knopf. It appeared in Britain under the Picador imprint, and has been translated into German and Spanish.http://www.columbia.edu/cu/amstudies/faculty/intermediate.html
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