Karen Armstrong is coming to Singapore!


Darul Arqam Official Website (The Muslim Converts' Association of Singapore)

In collaboration with MUIS

Topic: "What is Religion?"
Date: 18th June 2007
Time: 1930 hr
Venue: The Ritz Carlton (Ballroom)

By Invitation Only

Dress Code: Office Attire with Tie

This Public Lecture is by registration only. Please fill in the response form here by 13 June 2007 and fax it to 63591129 or email to mdvp@muis.gov.sg

For further details, please contact Bro Junaidi or Sis Haryanti @ ext 35/33


It says "By Invitation Only", then "by registration only". Wth. I'll just assume it's the latter. Maybe they mean that you can't show up on the day itself without registering beforehand. In any case, it says that "All registrations... will be taken as confirmed unless otherwise notified."

I was wondering if MUIS would be able to protect her against charges of sedition (we might even get to see some members of the floor arrested if there were a Q&A session), but it seems there is no need, since she takes a view that is deemed acceptable, criticised by Robert Spencer, another religious scholar:

"Armstrong says that “our priority must be to stem the flow of young people into organisations such as al-Qaida, instead of alienating them by routinely coupling their religion with immoral violence. Incorrect statements about Islam have convinced too many in the Muslim world that the west is an implacable enemy.” Armstrong here seems to be saying that if we ignore the elements of Islam that give rise to terror, they will stop giving rise to terror. I contend on the contrary that if we are to have any hope of stemming “the flow of young people into organisations such as al-Qaida,” it can only come from speaking forthrightly about what it is in Islam that makes them flow into such organizations, and calling upon Muslims who call themselves moderate to renounce those Islamic teachings -- while alerting non-Muslims to the existence of such teachings, so that they can take realistic actions against the threat in its true dimensions. No problem can be fixed by denying that it is a problem.

But of course, Armstrong would not accept that it is a problem in the first place. She declares that “these acts may be committed by people who call themselves Muslims, but they violate essential Islamic principles. The Qur’an prohibits aggressive warfare, permits war only in self-defence and insists that the true Islamic values are peace, reconciliation and forgiveness.” Yet it is not enough any longer, if it ever was, simply to assert that the terrorists “violate essential Islamic principles” and talk about self-defense and peace. The jihadists have again and again characterized their struggle as defensive. Let Ms. Armstrong demonstrate, if she can, from the Qur’an or Islamic tradition, why their characterization is in this case inaccurate, and how moderate Muslims today can refute it. If she cannot, then moderate Muslim leaders should do so, or risk giving their very professions of moderation a hollow ring."