About religion: speeches by its despisers from the intellectuals

The great German philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is considered one of the pioneers of hermeneutic theory in the modern era, as he was the one who planted the first seed of the idea of "hermeneutics" at the end of the eighteenth century through his captivating book "On Religion: Addresses to its Disbelievers among the Scholars," which is currently under study and analysis. The concept evolved with William Dilthey and Martin Heidegger, then matured with Hans-Georg Gadamer, a student of Heidegger. It did not reach the Arab world until after decades; with Sheikh Amin Al-Khuliy in Egypt, and in Iran with Sheikh Muhammad Mujtahid Shabestari. Schleiermacher was a Protestant theological reformer living in an era when religion was sharply criticized, and biblical interpretation became purely rational. This was expressed by Immanuel Kant in the preface to the first edition of "Critique of Pure Reason": "Our current century is especially the century of critique, which everything must submit to. It is futile for religion with its sanctity and law with its majesty to try to escape it; by their attempt, they only provoke more legitimate doubts against them, and deprive themselves of the sincere appreciation from reason, which grants it only to those who can withstand its free and public examination." In this context, Schleiermacher, in his book "On Religion," sought to reformulate a new understanding of religion—an understanding transcending intellectual and logical debates. It is an understanding rooted in faith, surrender, and belief in religious truths that modern science has demolished with its excessive rationality. He states: "Our task here is to establish and summarize the meaning of religion from what has adhered to it." As the title of the book indicates—"Addresses to its Disbelievers among the Scholars"—it is directed at the educated elite of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, who despised religion and saw it as a factor of backwardness that perpetuated slavery, while they exalted reason and revered logical deductions, making them a refuge for liberation and free understanding. This book is an introduction to Western religious thought, and, God willing, we will uncover points of convergence between it and Islamic religious thought. Religion, in essence, is a state of real life; it is the only serious way to seek the truth. Schleiermacher is not isolated from those who have tasted sacred secrets and confided in us with poetic language, defending them passionately. "On Religion: Addresses to its Disbelievers among the Scholars" is a book of the spirit, exploring its secrets, delving into its depths, an inner experience and a latent power that makes the reader feel existence, just as it made the writer feel. "The core upon which your understanding of the identity of religion and its centrality is based should not belong to thought or philosophical treatment, but should approach the values of intuition and feeling. Intuition as an innate relationship connected to the universe, and its manifestations that cannot be rationalized." If the deep essence of religious experience for Schleiermacher is the core of religion, then for Muhammad Iqbal—who reconstructed Islamic theology—it is an experience, because religion is a sincere, correct effort aimed at clarifying human feeling. Five addresses formed a visionary, luminous view of religion, detailed by the author as follows: First address: Defense of religious experience. Second address: About the essence of religion. Third address: About religious education. Fourth address: The social dimension of religion. Fifth address: About religions.