Liberation Theologies, Periphery Existence, and Global Challenges: Towards a Transcultural Ideology of Liberation

In Islamic Liberation Theology: Resisting the Empire (2008), Hamid Dabashi claims that Islamic ideology of the last 200 years as well as Latin American liberation theology does not offer any adequate responses for challenging empire under twenty-first century conditions. This paper is appreciative of Dabashi’s general project and explicitly agrees with him that replacing the oppression of old colonial or new colonial powers, whether they are nations or manifestations of global capital, by the oppression of a (totalitarian) religious ideology does not solve any problems, but creates just new ones. Contrary to Dabashi, the paper argues that both, Islamic ideology as it has been developed in response to European colonialism as well as Latin American liberation theology and liberation philosophy has ideas to offer that allow for a new ideology that fulfills the most significant aspects of Dabashi’s demands: being liberating and being part of a global conversation. For this purpose, this paper draws chiefly on José Comblin Enrique Dussel, Ignacio Ellacuría, and ‘Ali Shari‘ati (and al-Afghani). In addition, the paper discusses the challenges of any ideology of liberation, particularly in the context of the “global war on terror.” In this sense, the essay is also a contribution to the ongoing debate on national security.