Like most visionaries and revolutionary thinkers, Dr Kalim Siddiqui, who passed away on April 18, 1996, was far ahead of his times.
Among the many consequences of Hamas' stunning victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections in late January is the final shattering of any illusions that the neo-conservative clique inWashington may have had about the benefits of democracy in the Muslim world.
The ICIT held a second International Seerah Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, last month. Here we publish the paper presented at the conference by IMAM MUHAMMAD AL-ASI.
MODERN ISLAMIC POLITICAL THOUGHT, by Hamid Enayat (revised edition, with foreword by Hamid Algar). Pub: Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2001. Pp. 307; pbk. RM36.00 / $12.00 (excld. postage)
To mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Dr Kalim Siddiqui, we published an abridged extract from a paper by him in our last issue. In this issue, we reprint an article by Dr Siddiqui first published in Crescent International exactly 15 years ago (May 1-15, 1986).
The global Islamic movement is so clearly a major force in the world today — the only challenge to the crumbling civilization of the West — that it is easy to forget that less than 25 years ago Muslims barely showed on the geo-political map.
Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was born on Jumadi Al-Akhir 20, 1320AH. Events to mark the centenary of his birth are taking place around the world. Here Crescent International presents an abridged extract from Dr Kalim Siddiqui’s paper Error, deviation, correction and convergence in Muslim political thought (1989), in which he presents his understanding of the Imam’s political contribution...
The scholars of Islam are that assembly of ulama who have internalized the knowledge of Islam and communicate their understanding to the public. It is not enough to know facts, nor even to verbalize them.
For Muslims while the Qur’an is the revealed Word of God, the Prophet’s Seerah [life story/ prophetic model] is its practical manifestation.
Readers of Muslimedia and its sister-paper, Crescent International are familiar with the writings of the late Dr Kalim Siddiqui (right). His articles regularly appeared in these newsmagazines over many years. He first introduced the concept of the 'Global Islamic Movement' which today has become a household word among Islamic activists worldwide. No discussion about the Islamic Movement is complete without reference to Dr Kalim Siddiqui or his thought.
In the aftermath of the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, publications on Islam and politics began to flood the academic and pseudo-academic book market in the West. In the midst of such staggering amount of writings, whether of a serious or pamphleteering type, this book offers a lucid and well-argued interpretations of modern Islamic political thought that is indispensable for the understanding of much of the current political developments in the Muslim world. Hamid Enayat's Modern Islamic Political Thought, first published in 1982, at once distinguished itself from its mass of turgid competitors . It was the fruit not of a sudden adjustment of focus but of a longstanding interest, of prolonged reflection, rich and varied experience, and real erudition.
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