Islamic humanism

Another form of universalism in contemporary Sufism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4373249
AutoresFrancesco Piraino (0000-0002-1645-3253, Dipartimento di Studi sull’Asia e sull’Africa Mediterranea, Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, Italy, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen53
Número2
Páginas246-268
Fecha de publicación2023-04-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0048721x.2022.2130836
OpenAlexW4304172109
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas45

Contemporary Sufi orders in Western societies have been often described as ‘universal’, implying a conceptualisation of religion that transcends religious and cultural boundaries. This article challenges a univocal understanding of universalism, arguing for a plurality of universalist discourses, which entail different relations with otherness, practices, organisational structures, and politics. This article shows the continuities and discontinuities among different competing universalist discourses present in contemporary Sufism and Islam, such as Guénonian-Traditionalism, the New Age, and neo-liberalism. Furthermore, it describes another universalist discourse which has not been previously discussed in relation to contemporary Sufism, defined as ‘Islamic humanism’, which focuses on (1) the anthropo-cosmic role of the human being, connecting God, nature, and humankind; (2) a universal truth, which goes beyond religious and cultural differences, but is inscribed in Islam; (3) a pluralistic epistemology merging Islamic, natural, and social sciences; and (4) a sense of responsibility towards society, which implies a socio-political engagement

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Humanism · Islam · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Sufism · Theology · Universalism · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices