Abstract
This chapter discusses the concept of the umma and how it can be compared to the public sphere, as defined by Habermas. It starts by providing definitions of the concept of the umma and its historical roots and origins, and moves on to compare and contrast the unity of the umma, in terms of faith and morality, to its segmentation and fragmentation, due to political factors. The chapter also investigates the challenges confronting the umma in the “international” public sphere, such as the challenge of the emergence of Islamic resurgence movements or the “re-Islamization” trend, the challenge of whether the umma can accommodate democracy, the challenge of how far it can tolerate pluralism, as well as the challenge of fostering constructive dialogue between the umma and the “Other,” especially non-Islamic, western communities, and the different views around this issue, which oscillate between the pessimistic view of clash of civilizations and the optimistic view of dialogue between civilizations.
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Notes
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© 2009 Mohammed el-Nawawy and Sahar Khamis
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el-Nawawy, M., Khamis, S. (2009). Is the Umma a Public Sphere?. In: Islam Dot Com. Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230622661_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230622661_4
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