islam and existentialism

A topic I've tried to explore a little bit is the connection between Islam and existentialism. Some groups like the Murabitun have taken Nietzsche's concept of the Superman and have used it to point to a "new breed" of Muslim. Other Muslim intellectuals like Shariati were more enamoured by the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre and felt some affinity with his brand of existentialism. Frantz Fanon (a non-Muslim intellectual but nevertheless a strong advocate for the Algerian revolution and an influential figure among Third World political theorists of all stripes) was also influenced by Sartre and provides a kind of model for how Muslims might find some relevance in the ideas of existentialism.

Now, over at his blog, Ali Eteraz has written a post on Islamic Existentialism which points to some more traditionally and authentically "Islamic" examples of existentialist themes in Muslim poetry. Check it out.

Planet Grenada:
ali shariati
recalling frantz fanon
laughing lions