Islamic humanism or humanistic Islam?

Abstract

The article presents and analyses recent books by Muslim authors addressing the issue of humanism in Islam. After some general remarks about humanism and religion (in the current political context), idealist versus critical approaches to the theme of humanism and Islam will be identified. The bulk of the article is dedicated to an analysis of three books by Mouhanad Khorchide, a group of Norwegian reformists, and Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd. After a brief consideration on how scriptures is dealt with in idealist and critical approaches, the article concludes with a distinction between “Islamic humanism” and “humanistic Islam.”