Islam : Between Message and History
- IIntroduction, Moncef Ben Abdeljelil;
- Part One: Characteristics of the Message of Muhammad;
1. History and Theory;
2. The Preaching of Muhammad;
3. Distinctive Characteristics of Muhammad's Message;
4. Legislation; 5. The Seal of Prophecy; - Part Two: The Message in History;
1. The Prophet's Successors;
2. Institutional Islam;
3. The Elaboration of Institutional Theory; - Index
Description
This book could easily be called ‘A Guide for the Modern Muslim’; someone for whom the sentiments of his or her ancestors resonate but who cannot accept the canonised formulas of a prescriptive education. Charfi spells out what for him is the essential message of Islam, followed by a history of its unfolding through the person of the Prophet Muhammad, whom he perceives as a visionary seeking to change the ideals, attitudes and behaviours of the society in which he lived. The message and its history are delineated as two separate elements, conflated by tradition.
Charfi confronts with great lucidity the difficult questions with which Muslims are struggling, attempting to reconsider them from a moral and political perspective independent of the frameworks produced by tradition.