Publisher : Karthala - Paris
French
The Caliphate and Secularism. Syrian perspectives
The book confronts us with two opposing possibilities facing contemporary Arab society, namely the caliphate and secularism. While the former refers to the Islamic monarchy, theocracy and absolute power, the latter is a modern world allergic to the amalgamation of power and religion. After the Arab revolts (2011), the term ‘caliphate’ has come back with a vengeance, coinciding with the elections that brought the Islamists to power with the aim of founding an Islamic state guided by the new Ottoman sultan, as well as with the emergence of the Daesh nebula. Is Islamism the destiny of the Arabs? This is the question that the three Syrian authors presented in this book, M. Shahrour, G. Tarabichi and A. al-Azmeh, answer. Is there still a place for moderates among Muslims and Christians in the Middle East? The historical approach and the meticulous analysis of Arab-Islamic thought carried out by our authors reveal possible scenarios for the future of the Middle East torn between the caliphate and secularism.
L’ouvrage nous met face à deux possibilités opposées qui se présentent à la société arabe contemporaine, à savoir le califat et la laïcité. Si le premier se réfère à la monarchie islamique, à la théocratie et au pouvoir absolu, l’autre relève d’un monde moderne allergique à l’amalgame entre pouvoir et religion. Après les révoltes arabes (2011), le terme “califat” revient avec force, en coïncidence avec les élections qui ont porté les islamistes au pouvoir visant à fonder un État islamique guidé par le nouveau sultan ottoman, ainsi qu’avec l’émergence de la nébuleuse de Daesh. L’islamisme est-il le destin des Arabes ? C’est à cette question que nous répondent les trois auteurs syriens que présente cet ouvrage, M. Shahrour, G. Tarabichi et A. al-Azmeh. Y a-t-il encore une place pour les modérés parmi les musulmans et les chrétiens au Proche-Orient ? L’approche historique et l’analyse minutieuse de la pensée arabo-islamique menée de bout en bout par nos auteurs nous révèlent des scénarios possibles de l’avenir du Proche-Orient tiraillé entre le califat et la laïcité.
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