The present anthology is the fruit of the author’s many years researching the Islamic spiritual tradition and working in the field of Islamic education. It deals with several major themes: the place of Islam in the modern world, Qur’anic humanism, Russian Muslim culture, interreligious dialogue, and tasawwuf. The author believes that the modern crisis of the ummah is linked to its inability to respond adequately to the technological, scientific, intellectual and spiritual challenges of modernity and post-modernity. An adequate response is developed here in the following ideas: opening the gates of ijtihad, reforming fiqh, rethinking the theological and philosophical traditions, developing science and technology, finding a conceptual justification for interreligious dialogue, and other ideas. At the centre of the program for renewal is the idea of Qur’anic humanism: an up-to-date reading of the Qur’anic revelation that involves separating the eternal Word of God from local legal decisions, highlighting the brotherhood and unity of mankind, the religious inclination of human nature, the universality of divine guidance, religious pluralism and the inclusiveness of the divine mercy. The hermeneutic principles of Qur’anic humanism emphasize the essential and substantive interpretation of the tradition, as expressed primarily in the heart of Islam, tasawwuf. This project is conceived of by the author as a continuation of the renovationist project launched by thinkers of the Russian theological school (A. Kursawi, Sh. Marjani, R. Fahretdin, M. Bigiev etc).

Contents

INTRODUCTION

ISLAM AND THE MODERN WORLD

Islam in the 21^st century: a program for renewal

Islam in the modern world: the path of moderation

European Muslims: present and future

The dilemma of our age: Pseudo-salafism or intellectual salafism?

QUR’ANIC HUMANISM

Qur’anic humanism as an integral basis for intercultural communication

Qur’anic humanism and the modern legal model

RUSSIAN MUSLIM SOCIETY

Russian muslim society and the challenges of modernity

Strategies for the development of russian muslim society

From “the russian idea” to the “all-russian idea”

INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Philosophy of religion in light of the all-encompassing divine mercy

The foundations of interreligious dialogue in modern Russia

TASAWWUF

Tasawwuf in the 21^st century: the path to creation

The heart of islam

CONCLUSION

The islamic project: reality or myth?

APPENDIX

A Brief guide to the thinkers mentioned in the book

APPENDIX

The main concepts of the islamic spiritual tradition

BIBLIOGRAPHY