Sherman Jackson

Sherman Jackson

Co-founder, American Learning Institute for Muslims

Sherman A. Jackson is a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, a visiting professor of law, and a professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan , Ann Arbor . He has served as Executive Director for the Center of Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) in Cairo , Egypt , is a member of the U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee of the U.S. Institute of Peace , and a co-founder of the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM). The “On Faith” panelist is also a former member of the Fiqh Council of North America , past president of the Sharî‘ah Scholars' Association of North America (SSANA) and a past trustee of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). In addition to numerous articles on Islamic law, theology and history, Jackson is the author of Islamic Law and the State: The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Shihâb al-Dîn al-Qarâfî , On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abû Hâmid al-Ghazâlî's Faysal al-Tafriqa and, most recently, the controversial Islam and Blackamerican: Looking Towards the Third Resurrection . Jackson has lectured throughout the US and in numerous countries abroad. He has also taught at the University of Texas at Austin , Indiana University, Wayne State University and was recently offered a full-professorship at Stanford University , which he declined. Close.

Sherman Jackson

Co-founder, American Learning Institute for Muslims

Sherman A. Jackson is a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, a visiting professor of law, and a professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan , Ann Arbor . He has served as Executive Director for the Center of Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) in Cairo , Egypt , is a member of the U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee of the U.S. Institute of Peace , and a co-founder of the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM). more »

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July 2007 Archives



July 27, 2007 10:00 AM

Agree or Disagree: Let's Try to Understand

These questions are topical and pointed. They are also, however, hegemonic, in that they proceed on the apparent assumption that Western norms (presumed to be uncontested among Westerners themselves) are both the proper point of reference and the most ideal manifestation of the values under consideration. As I have stated in previous posts, this has the effect of forcing Muslims out of an explanatory posture and into an apologetic one, where the aim shifts from simply speaking about Islam to attempting to assuage Western fears, prejudices and misunderstandings. In such a context, the very fact of a Muslim response can, if we are not careful, serve to dignify such fears and prejudices as legitimate, with the result that Westerners end up subjecting Islam and Muslim apologetics to meticulous critique, while leaving their own fears, prejudices and misunderstandings unchallenged.

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On Faith is an interactive conversation on religion moderated by Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is PostGlobal, a conversation on international affairs. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for On Faith to David Waters, its producer.