Joseph J. Kaminski - Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology

In this engaging book, Kaminski argues that there are serious ontological incompatibilities between Islam and liberalism and that communitarian modes of thought are more consistent with the Islamic worldview. The author competently opens up new doors of scholarly inquiry regarding one of the most important topics confronting the Muslim world today. This book is necessary reading for anyone interested in the issue of Islam and the role of religion in the public sphere, and it warrants a serious audience and thoughtful debate.

Khaled Abou El Fadl, Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, USA

Kaminskis reflective engagement with the fundamental ontological assumptions and claims of both Islam and liberalism as discourses offers the reader both a critical and impartial take on subject. In doing so, Kaminski provides both specialists and general readers alike the benefit of a reflective lens that is successful offering a rethinking of the relationship between Islam and Liberalism.

Dalia Fahmy, Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University, USA

Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology

This book offers comparative ontologies of both Islam and liberalism as discourses more broadly construed.

The author argues that, despite recent efforts to speak of overlapping consensuses and discursive congruence, the fundamental categories that constitute Islam and Liberalism remain very different, and that these differences should be taken seriously. Thus far, no recent scholarly works have explicitly or meticulously broken down where these differences lie. The author rigorously explores questions related to rights, moral epistemologies, the role of religion in the public sphere, and more general approaches to legal discourse, via primary and canonical sources constitutive of both Islam and liberalism. He then goes on to articulate why communitarian modes of thought are better suited for engaging with Islam and contemporary socio-political modes of organization than liberalism is.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics and international relations, Islam, liberalism, and communitarianism.

Joseph J. Kaminski is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of International Relations at the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Current research interests include: Religion and Politics, Comparative Political Theory, and New Approaches to Islamic Public Reason. He is the author of The Contemporary Islamic Governed State: A Reconceptualization (2017).

Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics

Edited by Jeffrey Haynes, London Metropolitan University, UK

This series aims to publish high quality works on the topic of the resurgence of political forms of religion in both national and international contexts. This trend has been especially noticeable in the post-cold war era (that is, since the late 1980s). It has affected all the world religions (including, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism) in various parts of the world (such as the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa).

The series welcomes books that use a variety of approaches to the subject, drawing on scholarship from political science, international relations, security studies, and contemporary history.

Books in the series explore these religions, regions and topics both within and beyond the conventional domain of churchstate relations to include the impact of religion on politics, conflict and development, including the late Samuel Huntingtons controversialyet influentialthesis about clashing civilisations.

In sum, the overall purpose of the book series is to provide a comprehensive survey of what is currently happening in relation to the interaction of religion and politics, both domestically and internationally, in relation to a variety of issues.

Faith Based Organisations in Development Discourses and Practice

Edited by Andreas Heuser and Jens Khrsen

Religion, Conflict and Post-Secular Politics

Jeffrey Haynes

Democratization in Christian Orthodox Europe

Comparing Greece, Serbia and Russia

Marko Vekovi

Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology

A Critical Re-evaluation

Joseph J. Kaminski

Religion, Law and the Politics of Ethical Diversity

Conscientious Objection and Contestation of Civil Norms

Edited by Claude Proeschel, David Koussens and Francesco Piraino

For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Religion-and-Politics/book-series/RSRP

Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology

A Critical Re-evaluation

Joseph J. Kaminski

First published 2021

by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2021 Joseph J. Kaminski

The right of Joseph J. Kaminski to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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ISBN: 978-0-367-53985-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-53411-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-08397-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

This book is dedicated to the memories of my dear beloved mother, Debbie Kaminski, and my saintly grandmother, Suzanne Penrod. Mom bravely battled multiple myeloma and leukemia for almost ten years before returning to her creator on March 29, 2020 and grandma returned to her creator shortly after on April 30, 2020. Mom and grandma were inseparable in this world and both left it at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, due to closed borders, I was unable to leave Sarajevo, and I could not be with either of them as they were laid to rest. The sadness and regret that fills my heart for how this all transpired will remain with me until I too depart this world. I just want both of you to know that every day I pray for each of you to be granted everlasting life and happiness in the hereafter. You both were my anchors and strongest supporters in this world; nothing will ever replace either of you. My only comfort throughout this time of global tragedy is my unwavering confidence that Allahs mercy and magnanimity will allow for all of us to embrace once again in the hereafter; a most blessed and triumphant day that will be!

Contents

This work will generally follow the International Journal of Middle East Studies transliteration format. There will be a distinction made between all technical terms and proper names. All fully transliterated words will be italicized except proper names and the words Qurn and Shara. The names of writers whose works are being referenced either directly in Arabic or translated from Arabic sources will be transliterated while the names of figures whose works originally appeared in English or are being mentioned in passing with no reference to any specific text will not. T marba and all anglicized Arabic terms (i.e. words like Quranic) will not be transliterated. The letters lif (except for definite articles) and lif maqra are transliterated with . All dates mentioned will be given in Common Era (C.E.) or Before Common Era (B.C.E.) format unless specifically noted. In such cases, both C.E. and A.H. (after hijra or in the era of the hijr calendar [ at-taqwm al-hijr ]) will appear, for example: Bennabi (d. 1973 C.E./1393 A.H.).