Author: Asad Dandia
Affiliation: Columbia University
Organization/Publisher: Aljazeera
Date/Place: November 7, 2020/Doha, Qatar
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 2028
Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/11/7/islam-is-not-in-crisis-liberalism-is/
Keywords: Islam, Liberalism, Macron
Brief:
French President Emmanuel Macron claims that “Islam is a religion that is in crisis today all over the world.” Asad Dandia responds to Macron’s claim by focusing on liberalism’s crisis. The author maintains that liberalism is in trouble. He clarifies that there are critics of liberalism from left and right. For instance, from the left’s perspective it was liberalism established on violent and racist dispossession that brought inequality to the global system which persists until today. Its firmest critics come from Pankaj Mishra. However, there are also critics that are coming from the right. For example, Patrick Deneen and Adrian Vermeule perceive liberalism as an atomizing and suffocating ideology that frees people from any kind of social commitments. Indeed, left and right might vary on the solutions. In the end, he affirms that Islam is not in crisis. Instead, Islam will be all right since Muslims have overcome many crises in the past, and will overcome more in the future. The author believes that maybe Islam can suggest a solution to liberalism’s problems.
By: Fadi Zatari, CIGA Senior Research Associate