Social Justice, Commnity Empowerment, and Constructive Muslim Theology
Keywords:
Justice, Community Development, Modernization, Secularization, Coloniality, Constructive Muslim TheologyAbstract
This paper starts from a theoretical perspective on the shifting paradigm of community empowerment/development which positions religion as a crucial variable in socio-community change. Borrowing and utilizing decolonial perspectives as its theoretical framework and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its research method, this paper then traces the genealogy of Islamic discourses on justice and how they exercised within the practices of community development/empowerment in Muslim communities. While answering these two main questions, it also demonstrates power relations in religious interpretation and practice, as well as their relationship to community development/empowerment. The paper concludes with a critical reflection after analyzing several case studies of community empowerment efforts.
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