Open AccessAt forlade sekten
Author(s) -
Tetz Rooke
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
passage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1904-7797
pISSN - 0901-8883
DOI - 10.7146/pas.v24i62.6356
Subject(s) - authoritarianism , sect , politics , christianity , paradise , religious studies , religious freedom , philosophy , sociology , political science , law , theology , democracy
Tetz Rooke: “Leaving the Sect”In the prize-winning novel Azazil (2008) by Yusuf Zaydan, a Christian monk tells the dramatic story of his life, which is also the dramatic story of early Christianity in the Middle East. The novel problematizes the role of religion in politics and the individual’s responsibility for violence directed against “non-believers”. The same issues are also addressed in the true life story of the former Egyptian, Islamist activist Khaled al-Berry, Life is More Beautiful than Paradise (2001). Both books show defection as a proper solution when religious movements turn authoritarian and sully both individual freedom and moral principles.