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Article: There's No 'I' In Islam; Muslim societies have a long and rich history of civil organizations, from learning circles to trade guilds, dating back to the early-20th century.
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- November 27, 2006
- Author:
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Byline: Azyumardi Azra (Azra is president of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta and an Advisory Board member of the U.N. Democracy Fund.)
A strong civic culture is crucial for a healthy democracy. It's been said that Muslim society doesn't allow much room for civil society to flourish--because it's too exclusively focused on Islam. That isn't really true. Recent studies on the subject have convincingly shown that Muslim societies have a long and rich history of civil organizations dating back to the early 20th century.
They have taken various forms ranging from learning circles to artisan associations, trade guilds and other groups ...