HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

Year Ender: Mourning three Muslim reformers

Noha El-Hennawy

Thu, 30/12/2010 - 17:06

A display at the Museum of Islamic Art

" title="The Museum of Islamic Art" class="imagecache imagecache-highslide_zoom">

Photographed by Jenna Krajeski

• 1

As we bid farewell to 2010, a flood of reports seeking to wrap-up and assess the year’s main events continues to bombard consumers. Few of them, however, address what 2010 meant for Islamic reformist ideas.

The year dealt a serious blow to a clique of contemporary Muslim intellectuals who sailed against the fundamentalism’s sweeping tide. Egyptian Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Algerian-French Mohamed Arkoun, and Moroccan Mohamed Abed al-Jabri, three of the Muslim world’s most controversial Muslim intellectuals, passed away in 2010. They belonged to a generation of thinkers steeped in Islamic heritage but exposed to Western philosophy. The duality allowed an original perspective on the Qur’an and Islamic tradition.

Inspired by post-modernism, these thinkers deconstructed the mainstream Islamic discourse contending the existence of a single uncontested interpretation of religious texts. They challenged the very idea of the indispensability of an Islamic state, widely propagated by Islamists, who hold that an Islamic order is required for the sake of implementing “true” Islam.

By denying the existence of any one correct interpretation of Islam, the reformers endorsed secularism as a form of state where no interpretation could be held as canonical. Simultaneously, they called for a historical interpretation of the holy text and Islamic heritage in order to distinguish the changeable from the unchangeable in an attempt to reconcile Islam with modernity.

Unsurprisingly, critics attacked the reformist ideas and accused them of borrowing blindly from Western thought, breeding secularism and threatening faith. Yet, such criticism did not dissuade these thinkers from sharing their thoughts at a time when Islamists fully controlled the Muslim world’s conscience.

“The death of these three thinkers is certainly a big loss for Islamic reformation,” says Asef Bayat, Professor of Sociology and Middle East Studies at University of Illinois. “These are times in which we urgently need the diffusion of their ideas among the larger public.”

In May 1992, Abu Zayd, assistant professor of Arabic Studies at Cairo University, applied for promotion to the rank of professor. Yet, one of the adjudicators, known for his staunch Islamist leanings, accused Abu Zayd's of demonizing Islam in his writings while a former vice-president of the State Council spearheaded a suit accusing Abu Zayd of apostasy. The court issued a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs to separate Abu Zayd from his Muslim wife.

Following verdict, the couple fled to the Netherlands where Abu Zayd gained a prestigious teaching position at the University of Leiden.

“Abu Zayd had an innovative way of reading Islamic heritage,” says Mona Abaza, professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo, pointing out that he not only tended to interpret religious texts in historical context, but also to investigate the act of interpretation itself.

Throughout his career, Abu Zayd stressed the need to place holy texts in their historical contexts. To better understand the Qur’an, the socio-economic context of how it was revealed should be studied, he argued. In cases where such context no longer existed, the original injunctions could be upheld.

Abu Zayd faced fierce critique from detractors who accused him of seeking to weaken the Qur’an to the point where it could eventually become obsolete. During a public lecture held in Cairo two years before his death, Abu Zayd held that the Qur’an derives eternal life not from precise injunctions but from universal values, such as justice, equality, and tolerance, explicated therein.

Two months after Abu Zayd’s disappearance, Arkoun died in Paris at the age of 82 after a long career as a prominent philosopher and a renowned scholar of Islamic Studies. Arkoun was born in the Berber village of Taourirt-Mimoun, and it was there that he received his primary education.

Later, he completed his studies at the University of Algiers’s Faculty of Literature and at Paris’s Sorbonne. Throughout his career, he taught at various universities including the Sorbonne, Princeton, and the University of California in Los Angeles. Among his famous works are “The Un-thought in Contemporary Islamic Thought” and “Rethinking Islam.”

“These were intellectuals who had the courage to stand up for their ideas,” says Abaza.

According to Abaza, Arkoun did not limit his struggle to challenging Muslim orthodoxy. He also sought to expose the prevailing Western bias concerning Islam and the Muslim world.

“According to orientalists, Europe produced the clergy and the church and that church was pervasive and despotic. And this is why Europe had to be freed from the church and this is why Europe underwent enlightenment. But when orientalists look at the Muslim world, they say there is no clergy so there is no need for enlightenment. Arkoun said this is crap,” explains Abaza.

Abaza complained that Al-Azhar “is as authoritarian and pervasive as the church.If Al-Azhar says someone is an infidel, all agree…” adds Abaza.

Al-Jabri’s writings delve into the root reasons for the hegemonic thinking in the Muslim world. In his famous encyclopedic trilogy entitled “Critique of Arab Reason”, al-Jabri tried to reconstruct Islamic intellectual history in order to reveal the reasons that underlie a dearth of critical thinking in the Muslim world.

Al-Jabri celebrated Averroes (also known as Ibn Rushd) of twelfth century Andalusia. To him, Averroes’s philosophy could have served as the precursor of an Arab enlightenment, had it not been overshadowed by the influence of instructional mysticism developed by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and other scholars living in the eastern parts of the Muslim world.

Born in the city of Fagig in Morocco in 1935, al-Jabri obtained his PhD in philosophy from Moroccan University of Mohammed V’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities in 1970. He went on to teach as professor of Arab and Muslim philosophy at the same university.

“Al-Jabri was certainly better placed than others in reaching a relatively wide audience” because “he focused on Arab culture as much as he did on Islamic thought” and was “less controversial,” says Hazem Kandil, a PhD candidate at the Sociology Department of Los Angeles’s University of California.

His recent volumes recounted the life of the Prophet’s using verses of the Qur'an, according to Kandil. “Although he was criticized for basically following nineteenth-century French orientalists’ call to rewrite the Qur'an in order of revelation, which is what he did exactly in those volumes, still, scholars of sira, hadith, and tafsir welcomed his contribution,” adds Kandil.

Reformists’ ideas never attracted a large audience in Muslim societies. Most Muslims failed to engage their works. “I think that an important weakness of their ideas is that they remained rather elitist and therefore quite marginal,” says Bayat, author of multiple books and academic articles on Islamism and Islamic though in the Middle East.

“The challenge for the reformation thought is not just the production of ideas; the challenge is also making those ideas part of the popular conscience. There is a need for a mechanism to integrate liberating visions into the life and thought-frame of ordinary people. Only then can these ideas turn into a powerful material force for change.”

According to Kandil, the intellectuals appealed primarily to a western audience. “The notion that Islam is vastly misunderstood by Muslims today was a welcomed suggestion,” argues Kandil, formerly a political science lecturer at the American University in Cairo who designed and taught a course on contemporary Muslim reformists.

“It is indeed a tragedy that these thinkers are no longer with us. Their ideas should be kept alive,” concludes Bayat.

NBA's Garnett hurt in Celtics loss

30 December 2010 - 06H05

Kevin Garnett #5 of the Boston Celtics talks on the bench in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks on December 16. The Boston Celtics lost more than just an NBA game to the Detroit Pistons 104-92 as star forward Garnett left in the first quarter with a leg injury and did not return.

AFP - The Boston Celtics lost more than just an NBA game to the Detroit Pistons 104-92 as star forward Kevin Garnett left in the first quarter with a leg injury and did not return.

The 13-time all-star Garnett injured his right leg when he jumped for a dunk then hung on the rim and dropped to fell to the floor. He limped off the court and went to the dressing room.

Boston coach Doc Rivers said the injury isn't serious but couldn't say when Garnett would be able to play again. It was just the second loss for Boston in their last 17 games.

"I don't think it's bad so I'm not that concerned. He may miss some games," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

Paul Pierce scored a team-high 33 points for the Celtics, who dropped to 24-6 on the season.

Boston was also without point guard Rajon Rondo, who missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle.

Tracy McGrady led Detroit with 21 points. The Pistons led 45-37 at half time and extended that to 16 in the third quarter.

You couldn't make it up: offbeat stories from 2010

30 December 2010 - 07H06

Paul the octopus swims through his aquarium decorated with a football at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul shot to fame during 2010's football World Cup in South Africa for correctly predicting the outcome of games. He died October 26, 2010.

Laptops, mobile phones and blackberrys are pictured on the altar before a church service at St Lawrence Jewry church, in London. A British church held an unusual ceremony -- a blessing for the mobile phones, laptops and blackberrys of workers in the City of London financial district. The special service at the St Lawrence Jewry church, which dates back to 1136, was attended by around 80 people.

A bus in Copenhagen shows special red covered love-seats, or special seats for people ready for flirting. The seats with the special red cover with the Danish word, Kaerlighedssæde, love-seat, is a new offer from the bus company Arriva, to its younger passengers or any passenger with heart set for romance.

AFP - Some weird, wild and wonderful stories coloured the news in 2010:

- A Copenhagen bus company has put "love seats" on 103 of its vehicles for people looking for a partner. "Even love at first sight is possible on the bus," said a spokesman for the British owned Arriva company to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a "love seat" sign.

- Shoppers at an international luxury fair in Verona, Italy, found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin among the items on display. The phones will help "the deceased" contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake.

- Inmates at an infamous Moscow prison where a lawyer died last year in a case that sparked global anger will get a full suite of new creature comforts including sunbeds. "Is Butyrka turning into a sanatorium?" a sceptical mass-circulated Komsomolskaya Pravda daily asked in a headline.

- Paul the octopus, who shot to fame during this year's football World Cup for his flawless record in predicting game results, died peacefully in his sleep in an aquarium.

- Delhi authorities deployed a contingent of langurs -- a large type of monkey -- at Commonwealth Games venues to help chase away smaller simians from the sporting extravaganza.

- A Mozambican prisoner who had been released on parole broke back into jail after discovering he didn't like life on the outside.

- A British church held an unusual ceremony when a vicar blessed the mobile phones of 80 workers in the City of London financial district. The idea came from a historic tradition where workers would bring the tools of their trade, like ploughs, to be blessed on the first Monday after people return to work after Christmas.

- A robber in New York came up with a disarming way to pull off his latest bank heist, approaching the teller's window with a large bouquet of flowers and handing over a hold-up note.

- A Kuwaiti MP proposed state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in a bid to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich emirate.

- Shanghai officials hope to curb the growing popularity of man's best friend in the city with a one-dog policy.

- A Frenchman who lost all his limbs in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years.

- A set of dentures made for Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as "the teeth that saved the world" sold for nearly 18,000 pounds (21,500 euros, 28,000 dollars) at auction.

- The strongest and most expensive beer ever created sold out within hours, a Scottish brewery said, as they courted controversy by packaging the bottles inside the bodies of stuffed squirrels and stoats.

- A British woman sparked an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping a cat in a rubbish bin. She was fined 250 pounds (400 dollars, 280 euros) after pleading guilty.

- Two Australian men needed surgery after shooting each other in the buttocks during a drinking session to see if it would hurt.

- Even Hong Kong's dead cannot escape the Internet. In Chinese culture, relatives are expected to visit the cemetery at least once a year to pay their respects. But now, mourners can simply visit memorial.gov.hk set up by the government and set up a page free-of-charge.

- The BBC apologised "unreservedly" after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died.

US online sales surge 13 percent for holiday period

30 December 2010 - 07H08

An advertisement for a Cyber Monday sale is displayed on a BlackBerry smart phone in San Anselmo, California. Americans clicked up a record 30.8 billion dollars in online holiday sales in 2010, a jump of 13 percent from a year ago, a survey showed.

AFP - Americans clicked up a record 30.8 billion dollars in online holiday sales in 2010, a jump of 13 percent from a year ago, a survey showed.

The research firm comScore said holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the 56 days of the November-December holiday period had been fueled by a late surge in spending -- some 2.45 billion dollars was spent online in the week to December 26, a 17-percent jump.

"Online holiday spending has remained strong through Christmas and we've already seen the season totals easily surpass the levels of the past few years to set a new record for spending at almost 31 billion dollars," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

"For at least this holiday season, the American consumer has been able to shrug off the continuing economic challenges of high unemployment rates and depressed housing prices and spend at a rate that has been slightly stronger than we had expected," he added.

"After the past few years' struggles, it is gratifying to see e-commerce return to a state that can only be described as a very merry holiday shopping season."

Among the big sellers for the gift-giving season were computer and related products, up 23 percent; books and magazines (22 percent); consumer electronics (21 percent); computer software (20 percent) and toys (16 percent).

A separate survey this week by MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, showed a 5.5-percent increase in overall holiday spending, excluding autos, in the period from November 5 through December 24.

"If last year's holiday story was about gaining some stability, this year?s is about getting back to growth," said Michael McNamara, vice president at SpendingPulse.

"We also saw a noticeable return in spending in the larger ticket items, as exemplified by the solid growth in jewelry, luxury and even the furniture category."

Secret Men's Business 3.5 wins Sydney to Hobart

30 December 2010 - 07H14

The Australian yacht and overall winner 'Secret Men's Business 3.5' as it was approaching Tasman Island in Tasmania on the final leg of the 66th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Mark Richards, skipper of the Australian supermaxi 'Wild Oats XI', co-navigator Adrienne Cahalan, and Patrick Boutellier, CEO of Rolex Australia, at the line honours prizegiving ceremony of the 66th Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

AFP - Australian yacht Secret Men's Business 3.5 was named overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart ocean race on Thursday, taking handicap honours to claim the coveted Tattersall's Cup.

"It took me 22 years to win this race so I?m glad it?s finally happened -- I?m running out of runway," joked 64-year-old skipper Geoff Boettcher.

Current record-holder Wild Oats XI was first home Tuesday evening, completing the dash down Australia's southeast coast in two days, seven hours and 37 minutes to take its fifth line honours in six years.

But the overall winner is determined on a handicap system that takes into account a boat's size and what sailing conditions it faced during the race.

Officials Thursday gave Secret Men's Business 3.5 the overall title, with a handicap time of four days, one hour, 29 minutes and 40 seconds.

The 51-footer crossed the finish line on Wednesday afternoon, three days and 42 minutes after leaving Sydney, but had to wait and see whether two other yachts still at sea could record a better handicap. Both missed their deadlines early Thursday.

"It was spooky last night not being sure whether we?d won or not, there was a bit of anxiety. Today?s confirmation means I can comprehend it now," said Boettcher.

Crews battled strong headwinds and churning waves in the race's 66th edition, with Boettcher recounting 50-knot gales and seas so big "sometimes it was a challenge just getting on deck".

"We had to take our foot off the pedal a bit in Bass Strait, but we pushed the boat and crew to the limit; you have to if you want to win," he said.

Wild Oats had to fight a protest from officials alleging it had breached mandatory radio reporting conditions. An international jury ruled in skipper Mark Richards' favour, confirming his yacht as line honours winner.

The 628-nautical-mile race has a deadly history, with a wild storm killing six sailors and sinking five yachts in the horror 1998 edition.

Violent seas contributed to 18 yachts pulling out of the 2010 race -- including one with a broken mast -- reducing the number of boats expected to finish the race to 69, 30 of which were still at sea late Thursday.

The last boat on the standings, Wave Sweeper, is expected to arrive at Hobart around 1:00 pm (0200 GMT) Friday.

Tennis glamour girl Ivanovic emerges from mental fog

30 December 2010 - 07H22

File photo of Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic, who clearer of mind and fitter of body than for some time, is confident she can climb back into the top 10 in 2011.

Ranked no.1 in the world in 2008, when she won her only Grand Slam singles title at the French Open, Anna Ivanovic dropped out of the top 60 this year as she battled poor form before climbing her way back to 17 by season's end.

AFP - Clearer of mind and fitter of body than for some time, Serbian glamour girl Ana Ivanovic is confident she can climb back into the top 10 in 2011.

Ranked no.1 in the world in 2008, when she won her only Grand Slam singles title at the French Open, Ivanovic dropped out of the top 60 this year as she battled poor form before climbing her way back to 17 by season's end.

The 23-year-old claimed titles in Austria and Bali in the last three tournaments she played for the season and enters the new year full of confidence that her career is finally back on track.

Speaking on Thursday as she prepared to partner Novak Djokovic in the mixed teams Hopman Cup, Ivanovic said she was reaping the rewards of working with a new coaching team and an improved fitness regime.

She said the main improvement in her game was a renewed belief in her own ability.

"I am on the right way," she said.

"I feel good about my game and my fitness at the moment.

"It is a strange thing, once you lose it (confidence) you feel like it is very hard to get it back.

"In my case, I tried to search for it in many different directions and many different places and with different people, but you realise that it is all the time within you, you just have to discover it."

Ivanovic said she started working on her fitness with a close friend after Wimbledon.

"Once I got fitter, I felt like it gave me confidence on the court," she said.

"I worked really hard and started to play a lot better in the summer in America and all the things started to come together.

"It wasn't any more this balance between my game, my fitness and my mental, which was very nice to see.

"Once you start to feel better the confidence just grows and to have two titles at the end of the year meant a lot to me."

Ivanovic is confident she can win more Grand Slam titles to add her Roland Garros success.

"I am very excited about this upcoming year," she said.

"There is a lot of potential to do really well, there are a lot of great players out there, but it has been a little bit up and down and a lot of players have been fighting injuries of haven't played that many events.

"If you can start good and be really consistent, you can get far next year.

"I want to get back to top 10 and hopefully win another Grand Slam.

"I know I have potential to win some more."