Abstract
The idea that religions should be pluralist is often supported by commentators. It opposes the more rigid suggestion that a particular religion is the only valid route to the truth and salvation. A problem with the latter idea of course is that it makes dialogue meaningless, since the only point to talking to those in other faiths would be to try to convince them of the truth of your own religion. It is not difficult to find indications in many religions that a variety of views on basic issues are acceptable and indeed should be welcomed as progressive. It is argued here, though, that such an approach really does not do justice to the Qur’an. Like many religions, Islam requires obedience to divine authority and is often critical of alternative ways of thinking and behaving. We may regret that this is the case, but religions are often illiberal institutions and should be accurately described as such.
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Notes
- 1.
Oliver Leaman, The Qur’an: A Philosophical Guide (London: Bloomsbury, 2016), 238–9.
- 2.
Ibid, 62.
- 3.
Asma Barlas, “Believing Women” in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002), 4.
- 4.
Adis Duderija, The Imperatives of Progressive Islam (London and New York: Routledge, 2017).
- 5.
Reference is to Qur’an 18: 60–82; Leaman, The Qur’an: a Philosophical Guide, 2016, 171.
- 6.
Qur’an 35: 32; see also Leaman, The Qur’an: A Philosophical Guide, 2016, 213–14.
- 7.
Qur’an 2: 34; Leaman, The Qur’an: A Philosophical Guide, 2016, 54–5.
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Leaman, O. (2021). The Qur’an and Pluralism: A Skeptical View. In: Hashas, M. (eds) Pluralism in Islamic Contexts - Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66089-5_3
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