98instance. A related theory by Imam al- Shatibi,
known as maqasid al- shari’ah, or the “aims of
Shari’ah,” again focuses on values and not dogma,
this time in matters jurisprudential regardless of
one’s theological heritage. It transpires from these
theological and scriptural theories that what mat-
ters are the values one holds, not the scripture one
claims to derive them from. In your introductory
remarks you suggested that if such universal values
exist outside scripture, they can be equally applied
to other scriptures—in which case it’s not neces-
sarily scripture that gives rise to these values, so
what’s the point of it? I think it’s im por tant to
recognize the human tendency toward reverence
and the role spirituality may play, as well as the
evolutionary role played by religion. However, I
personally prefer to focus on people’s values, not
the religious heritage they claim as the source of
those values.Harris I’m very happy to hear about these interpretive
resources, but I have to offer a brief demurral to
what sounds like an overly cheerful account of Is-
lamic history. Most of human history is a blood-
bath, of course, so Islam is not unique in this. But
it is misleading to suggest that the problems of
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