This volume explores the 'Mimetic Theory' of the cultural theorist René Girard and its applicability to Islamic thought and tradition. Authors critically examine Girard's assertion about the connection between group formation, religion, and 'scapegoating' violence. These insights, Girard maintained, have their source in biblical revelation. Are there parallels in other faith traditions, especially Islam? To this end, Muslim scholars and scholars of Mimetic Theory have examined the hypothesis of an 'Abrahamic Revolution.' This is the claim that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each share in a spiritual and ethical historical 'breakthrough:' a move away from scapegoating violence, and towards a sense of justice for the innocent victim.
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1 | (28) |
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1 The Wound Where Light Enters: Mimetic Theory and Islam |
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3 | (26) |
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29 | (72) |
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2 Islamic Anthropology, Based on Key Passages in the Qur'an |
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31 | (8) |
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3 Adam and Eve in the Qur'an: A Mimetic Perspective |
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39 | (8) |
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4 The Becoming of a Model: Conflictive Relations and the Shaping of the Quranic Ibrahim |
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47 | (18) |
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5 Fathers and Sons, Sacrifice and Substitution: Mimetic Theory and Islam in Genesis 22 and Sura 37 |
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65 | (22) |
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6 From Structure to Interpretation of the Joseph Sura |
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87 | (14) |
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101 | (26) |
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7 Spiritual Love and Sacred Suffering: Mimetic Theory from Shi'ah Perspective |
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103 | (14) |
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8 The Philosophy of Dialogic Engagement: Two Muslim Dialogue Thinkers vis-a-vis Mimetic Theory |
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117 | (10) |
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Part IV Christianity and Islam in Resentful Modernity |
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127 | (48) |
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9 Islam and Islamism in the Mirror of Girard's Mimetic Theory |
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129 | (12) |
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10 Prison Violence in France and Mimetic Theory |
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141 | (8) |
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11 Muslim Brotherhood, Social Justice and Resentment |
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149 | (14) |
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12 Vox victima, vox moderna?: Modernity and Its Discontents |
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163 | (12) |
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| Index |
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175 | |
Michael Kirwan is a Jesuit priest who taught theology at Heythrop College (University of London), and is now an associate professor at the Loyola Institute, Trinity College, Dublin. He is the author of Discovering Girard (2004), and Girard and Theology (2009).
Ahmad Achtar taught Islamic Studies at Heythrop College, and is currently a research associate at the School of Advancd Study (University of London).
