Revolution against the old Ash’arism is needed, by Hassan Hanafi

Jamal al Banna جمال البن 1920-2013

In the aftermath of the Tunisian et Egyptian revolutions, the late Jamal Al Banna wrote that ‘the people have risen up against their rulers. Will Muslims now rise up against their faqihs ?’

Can we consider that an intellectual uprising against the current clerks’ domination on the social mind-set is inevitable? Is it the first step before undertaking the reconstruction of a free and creative thought in Islam?

It is easy for the people to rise once they have a revolutionary party and a revolutionary ideology and a revolutionary leadership. But, it is very difficult to form revolutionary Ulemas because of the absence of a revolutionary ideology.  Ash’arism is dominant everywhere, Mu’tazilism is absent. God overrules everything. Man, reason and free will are absent.

An intellectual uprising of Muslim Ulemas having the actual socio-political upset is impossible since the obedience to the ruler is the norm. Obeying the ruler stems out from obeying God. The revolution against the old Ash’arism of the Ulemas must proceed the revolution of the people.

RB

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