The Arab shaykh: authority in Christian and Muslim communities, and questions of social-political reform
Democratic reform in the Middle East has been prominent on the public agenda of several American administrations since the 1990s. The lack of progress on this agenda and the rise of what has been labeled ‘Islamo-fascism’ has led to arguments that Islam is incompatible with democracy and individual r...
| Publié dans: | Islam and Christian-Muslim relations |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Taylor & Francis
[2012]
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| Dans: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Année: 2012, Volume: 23, Numéro: 1, Pages: 19-30 |
| RelBib Classification: | BJ Islam CC Christianisme et religions non-chrétiennes; relations interreligieuses CH Christianisme et société KAJ Époque contemporaine KBL Proche-Orient et Afrique du Nord |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Middle East
B neopatriarchy B Millet B Democracy B Sectarianism B Confessionalism |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Résumé: | Democratic reform in the Middle East has been prominent on the public agenda of several American administrations since the 1990s. The lack of progress on this agenda and the rise of what has been labeled ‘Islamo-fascism’ has led to arguments that Islam is incompatible with democracy and individual rights. Utilizing recent Middle East development reports and sociological studies on the Arab family, this article argues that the traditional authority of the Arab shaykh, as an either benevolent or authoritarian leader, is imbedded deep within Arab culture. The article shows that Arab Christian communities, even those that pride themselves on modern egalitarian views, share cultural modalities of authority with their Muslim compatriots. Consequently, Western democratic ideals based upon individualism do not function naturally within the current Middle Eastern Arab cultural social framework. Any form of national legislative power sharing must take into account the Arab social structure and the common cultural leadership models inherent in both Muslim and Christian communities. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9311 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2011.634594 |