Mitigating the Strife between Atheists and Islamists in the Arab World: Dissolving Supremacy of Principles within Socio-Historical Reality

Abstract

Western New Atheism is witnessing a resurgence in the Arab world which has provoked a strong Islamic counter-atheism reaction. The present essay seeks to: 1—briefly describe the cultural resurgence of both opposing camps, 2—illuminate a philosophical Qur’ānic approach to atheism, 3—present a peculiar defense of atheism by Muḥammad li-Mzūghī utilizing classical Arab-Islamic scholasticism and literature, 4—examine an attempt to counter atheism by utilizing modern philosophy as articulated by ʻAbd al-Jalīl al-Kūr, 5—expand the theoretical debate by highlighting the current social magnitude of the atheistic-Islamic strife, 6—reveal an inner camp schism between the higher and lower intellectual levels of both Islamic and atheistic camps, an inner camp rivalry, and a cross camp alliance, and finally, 7—propose some epistemic solutions that can reduce the magnitude of this socio-cosmological debate.