The City = Pluralism and Equality
Editorial verification status: This atom is extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source, and it has now been linked to the closest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.
Statement formulation
Shahrur presents the city as a space of pluralism and equality among people, without religious mediation.
Explanation
In contrast to the monolithic village, he makes the city a pluralistic mode in which no one stands above another. He says that the city abolishes mediation between God and people and prevents clerics from monopolizing religious authority. He also links it to equality between men and women and the abolition of slavery. For him, the city is not merely a place, but a historical transition in the structure of society and authority.
Its place in the episode’s argument
This idea is the positive counterpart to shirk. Resisting shirk means moving from the monolithic village to the pluralistic city.
Scope of the claim
This does not mean that every urban society is necessarily civil in the Qur’anic sense he intends.
Brief evidence
“An age of cities… an age of equality between men and women”
Related links
- Shahrur - the civil state
- Shahrur - sovereignty
- Book: State and Society