Women in Society

By: Ali Hussain al-Hakim

Mahdiology is the science where all the Shi’ah eschatological technical terms should be defined and re-produced. In the light of the frameworks of this knowledge, one should grasp the role of each organisation and redefine the responsibility of every single entity. In this article, my work is dedicated to highlight the characteristics of a ‘Just Society’, and to rediscover the role of mass media in creating a ‘Just Society ’, or even its ability through manipulation to produce an unjust atheistic social order. It is the author’s sincere attempt to manifest the role of religion in the public sphere together with its constructive contribution.

This work is neither based on, nor inspired by, attending various church services; and secular events and the publication thereof provide no source for brainwaves. No informative meetings were helpfully inspirational unlike the motivational sparks generated by Qur’anic verses and its exegesis. The Qur’an has been revealed for more than a millennium, but has consistently innovated and stimulated Muslim scholars throughout history, up until today and for the foreseeable future.

The Article’s main questions

The broad-spectrum topic that this article may necessarily seek to address is the appropriate role of religion in the public sphere in quest of answers to the following:

- Whether, in a pluralist society, public expression and/or displaying of any religious signs belonging to a belief system can be divisive? Can the Media play a constructive role or, through manipulation, exhibit only a destructive influence?

- Can a community find cohesion amongst various faiths and backgrounds?

- What are the potential clashes of values as globalization and population mobility increasingly lead to the intersection of strikingly different backgrounds and cultures?

The Role of Religion in the Public Sphere

Throughout many articles written by Jurgen Habermas , amongst others, e.g., Rosalind I.J. Hackett , and the multitude of books which have emerged particularly after the Hijab ban in French schools, the question of the role of religion in the public sphere has become increasingly urgent, and now is the time to begin the search for deeper knowledge and understanding of the sociological, historical, and theological issues that confront the relation between Muslims and between Great Britain and Europe. England provides an adequate start towards gaining insight into religion’s potential role in European public society and perhaps in the world through pursuing a deeper understanding of the thoughts of Islamic sacred texts.

Islam, its crucial role in the public sphere and the way it is presented by the media is one of our subjects, partly due to the fact that it has become a major religion in Great Britain. Despite our emphasis being placed on Christianity’s diminished role and Islamic thought while elaborating generally the role of religion in the public sphere, we have not mentioned Sikhs, Buddhists and other religious minorities satisfying ourselves with Islamic features and rare Christian references, as these were taken as examples of the growing European religious diversity and the increasing role the Islamic faith is starting to play.