Dr. Sherman Jackson

Sherman Jackson, the King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture at USC, dives deep into the relationship between Sharia, secularism, and modern governance. He critiques the assumption that Sharia equates to modern law, emphasizing its nuanced historical application by classical jurists. Jackson also discusses the impacts of colonialism on Islamic institutions and argues that pre-modern polities were shaped by diverse influences rather than solely by Sharia. He advocates for reclaiming tradition to envision pluralistic political futures.

Sherman Jackson, a leading scholar of Islamic thought and the King Faisal Chair at USC, dives deep into his new book, The Islamic Secular. He challenges the notion that secularism is an external concept to Islam. Jackson discusses the importance of reclaiming the term 'secular' for Muslim self-understanding and critiques traditional academic frameworks. He proposes a modern take on Islamic studies, advocating for the relevance of non-jurists in the scholarly conversation while navigating the philosophical nuances between 'Islamic' and 'Islamicate.'