Let my people go! Sayyid Qutb and the vocation of Moses

Moses is a great figure of moral and social liberation. His role in the Muslim tradition has been as multifaceted as in Judaism and Christianity. This essay attempts to explore his importance in the ideology of radical Islam by exploring Sayyid Qutb's responses to a number of the Moses scenes of the Qur'an in his work Fi zilal al‐qur'an. Qutb's treatment reveals aspects of the ideological structure that informs his writing, his love of Egypt and his spirituality. It shows, also, how he had a vision of Islam that went far beyond the boundaries of a nation state and regarded Nasser as a betrayer of this vision. He saw the Egyptians suffering under him as they had suffered under Pharoah.     

Citizenship Rights of Non-Muslims in the Islamic State of H # kimiyya Espoused by Sayyid Qutb

In the late twentieth century, the ultimate goal of the Egyptian thinker and activist Sayyid Qutb was to establish an Islamic order; that is, an Islamic state supervised and guided by h # kimiyya . For him, h # kimiyya, practically, is the Shar I 'a (Islamic Code). It comprises the clear-cut commands and prohibitions conveyed in the Qur' # n and the traditions (Hadith) of the Prophet of Islam. With those commands, the h # kimiyya deals with the individuals and groups, links them to the society and defines the individual's rights within the limits of the community. In Qutb's view, the non-Muslim minority in the Islamic state is not outside of the jurisdiction of the ' h # kimiyya ', which regulates the relationship between the state and its citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims and individuals and groups. Thus the rights of non-Muslim minorities in the Islamic state of h # kimiyya, how they should be treated and the question of whether they should enjoy equal citizenship rights and responsibilities with Muslims have increasingly come to be one of the pressing and 'sensitive' issues in the debate. Contributing to the debate, this paper intends to investigate the issue of citizenship rights of non-Muslim minorities in the Islamic state of h # kimiyya espoused by the Egyptian Islamist Sayyid Qutb, the key figure of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose works were considered as the manual of the Islamic groups, al-Jam # ' # t al-Isl # miyya, in Egypt and abroad. In so doing, the paper will begin with some background to the issue, and then outline the essential points of Qutb's concept of justice as central to his view on citizenship rights and responsibilities. It follows that the right to freedom of belief for non-Muslims, and also for Muslims who want to change their religion, will be examined. Equality between Muslims and non-Muslims in matters related to finance, benefits and amenities with the focus on taxation will be outlined. The rights of non-Muslims to hold public office will also be investigated. It will be seen at the end that Qutb's concept of citizenship rights is centered on the concepts of justice, complete human equality and firm social solidarity in their broadest sense. His discussion stresses the notion of universality and humanism as one of the characteristics of the Islamic system. Qutb's views on the subject were grounded in the authoritative texts, namely the Qur' # n and the traditions of the Prophet, but in essence they were an attempt to assuage the concerns of the non-Muslim minorities themselves. In the light of the aim of Islamic activism for which Qutb was and perhaps continues to be the ideologue, Qutb's view on the status of non-Muslims in an Islamic state, specifically through the prism of h # kimiyya, lends this study special importance.     

Aquinas on Natural Law and the Virtues in Biblical Context Homosexuality as a Test Case

Marriagelike homosexual relationships expose a division among ethicists following Aquinas. Those emphasizing natural law may call such relationships unnatural; those emphasizing the virtues may approve of relationships fostering love and justice. Natural law, the virtues, and homosexuality all show up in Aquinas's Commentary on Romans —untranslated and hardly cited. Romans 1:18 opens a discussion of justice. Verse 20 provides Aquinas's chief warrant for natural law. Verse 26 applies virtue and law to the vice against nature. But Aquinas's account also depends on Paul as an exemplar of virtue and on Aquinas's high regard for the Bible. Aquinas deploys natural law as a mode of biblical exegesis, not an alternative to it. In the De potentia , Aquinas considers how to proceed when nature and Scripture seem to conflict. The account does not settle, but rather makes more room for, dispute.     

Perfectionist Liberalism,Tolerance And American Law

I attempt to show that toleranceis part of the idea of American law: for any legalsystem must incorporate the capacity toaccommodate differences in order to meet theminimal standards necessary to apply a rule. There are multiple forms of tolerance, however, some ofwhich are inconsistent with liberal principles.By examining several lines of jurisprudencerelating to speech and privacy, I show thatAmerican law reflects elements of bothliberalism and conservative communitarianism. I attempt to reconcile these by suggesting they actuallyreflect a perfectionist foundation of liberalautonomy. That is to say, American law doesnot value moral autonomy and reasoned discoursebecause they protect neutrality betweendifferent ideas of the good life: rather, thelaw reflects an idea of the good life that seesmoral autonomy as advancing well being.This perfectionist liberal foundation oftolerance reflects the evolution of Americanlaw. Through slavery, sexism and the controlof erotic speech we see how it expanded theideas of who is capable of rationaldiscourse and what activities incorporatethe exercise of reasoned moral autonomy;and how the law imposes this autonomouscapacity on individuals as the price ofcitizenship, even if they belong to groups whodeny the value of reason or autonomy.     

Natural Law, Motives, and Freedom of the Will

In this paper I piece together a Wittegnsteinian view of the topics indicated in my title, contrasting it with the views of Bertrand Russell and Donald Davidson - two philosophers who, in words from the Blue Book , seem "constantly to see the method of science before their eyes." I conclude that Wittegnstein helps us understand something those philosphers tend to overlook: that "freedom of the will" gets its meaning not in a belief to be assessed by evidence but, on the contrary, in the expression of a way of living and assessing life that limits the role of "assessing beliefs by evidence."     

Philosophy of Science Between the Natural Sciences,the Social Sciences,and the Humanities: Introduction

This introduction provides a detailed summary of all papers of the special issue on the second conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science: GWP.2016.