Topics of Interest » Religion and Politics » Articles and Essays »
Bin Laden, Assassination and Democracy
Osama bin Laden is dead – assassinated a fortnight ago by bullets sprayed from the guns of special armed forces of the United States. During the wild celebrations that followed, the word “assassination” was never once used by politicians. There were instead euphemisms galore. Bin Laden was said to have been “struck down” or “eliminated”. [...]
Refolution in the Arab world
Great revolutionary convulsions typically trigger long-lasting reflections on their causes and consequences. The European tradition of political thinking harbours many well-known examples, including Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), Harold Laski’s Reflections on the Revolution of Our Times (1943) and Ralf Dahrendorf’s Reflections on the Revolution in Europe (1990). There are not [...]
The Beauty of Justice
Abdolkarim Soroush, Iran’s most prominent and controversial philosopher, talks with John Keane about Justice. This interview was published in the CSD Bulletin, Summer, 2006-07, Vol. 14 No. 1 & 2, University of Westminster Press. Read the interview in PDF format here
Banyan Democracy
By John Keane, The Indian Express Published: Wednesday 15 August 2077 ‘Written for the special edition of one of India’ leading daily newspapers, the Indian Express, on the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Indian republic’ With its deep roots, many trunks and tall branches, India is the world’s most compound, turbulent and exciting [...]
The Reformation – By Patrick Collinson
229 pp. New York : The Modern Library, Random House. $21.95 A Book Review by John Keane From New England comes the old joke about a high school history lesson. Teacher : ‘Why did the Puritans leave England for America?’ A pupil : ‘So that they could live their religion in freedom, and force others [...]
Petro-Democracy?
We respect others’ thought as a matter of principle. I believe that if I have the freedom to disagree with others then others have the freedom to disagree with me, and that dialogue will resolve the issue. ___________________________________________ An interview with Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Fadlallah, conducted by Professor John Keane in Beirut, December 2003. Translated [...]
Secularism?
In David Marquand and Ronald L. Nettler (eds) Religion and Democracy, pp. 5–19. 2000, Oxford: Blackwell Publisher. Series: Political Quarterly Special Issues. 100 years ago, secular liberals thought religion would gradually recede from the public sphere and become an exclusively private concern. Today, organised religion is still a powerful political force in most parts of [...]
Power-Sharing Islam?
Chapter in Azzam Tamimi (ed.) Power-Sharing Islam?published by Liberty for Muslim World Publications, 1993, (pp. 15-31) Click here to view scanned excerpt in PDF format