"Muslims yearn for real debate": interview in Qantara with Muslim scholar Ziauddin Sardar

Ziauddin Sardar is a leading British-Pakistani Muslim scholar and critic. In this interview with Susannah Tarbush, he talks about the magazine "Critical Muslim" he founded and which he sees as an "intellectual, cultural, philosophical and creative backup" for the revolutions of the Middle East 

In January a year ago, a refreshingly different kind of Muslim publication, the quarterly Critical Muslim (CM), was launched in Britain. Published by London-based C Hurst and Co, CM takes the form of an attractively-produced paperback book of over 250 pages. Its stated mission is to be a quarterly of "ideas and issues showcasing ground-breaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, increasingly interconnected world". CM's founder and editor is leading Muslim scholar, critic and public intellectual Ziauddin Sardar. Born in Pakistan in 1951, Sardar grew up in London where he still lives. He is a prolific and much-read writer: since the late 1970s he has written some 45 books as well as numerous articles and essays. Sardar's CM co-editor is the prominent British-Syrian novelist, critic and blogger Robin Yassin-Kassab.

To mark the first anniversary of CM's launch, Qantara interviewed Ziauddin Sardar on the quarterly's concept, first year of publication, and future plans... read interview at Qantara.de

 

latest issue: Critical Muslim 05