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Samira Haj conceptualizes Islam through a close reading of two Muslim reformers—Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wahhab (1703–1787) and Muhammad 'Abduh (1849–1905)—each representative of a distinct trend, chronological as well as philosophical, in modern Islam. Their works are examined primarily through the prism of two conceptual questions: the idea of the modern and the formation of a Muslim subject. Approaching Islam through the works of these two Muslims, she illuminates aspects of Islamic modernity that have been obscured and problematizes assumptions founded on the oppositional dichotomies of modern/traditional, secular/sacred, and liberal/fundamentalist. The book explores the notions of the community-society and the subject's location within it to demonstrate how Muslims in different historical contexts responded differently to theological and practical questions. This knowledge will help us better understand the conflicts currently unfolding in parts of the Arab world.
In Muḥammad ʿAbduh and his Interlocutors: Conceptualizing Religion in a Globalizing World, Ammeke Kateman offers an account of Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Islamic Reformism in a globalizing and diverse world.
Explores how the classical Islamic tradition has been retrieved, reformed and reshaped in the modern Islamic worldRecent events in the Islamic world have demonstrated the endurance, neglect and careful reshaping of the classical Islamic heritage. A range of modern Islamic movements and intellectuals has sought to reclaim certain concepts, ideas, persons and trends from the Islamic tradition. This book profiles some of the fundamental debates that have defined the conversation between the past and the present in the Islamic world. Quranic exegesis, Islamic law, gender, violence and eschatology are just some of the key themes in this study of the Islamic traditions vitality in the modern Islamic world. This book will allow readers to situate modern developments in the Islamic world within the longue durA(c)e of Islamic history and thought.Key FeaturesBrings clarity to modern trends, events and debates in the Islamic world by placing them in their longer historical trajectoriesBrings together experts of the medieval and modern Islamic worldProvides an examination of how the classical Islamic heritage functions in todays Islamic world in regions as diverse as the Middle East, Iran and the Indian subcontinentCase Studies IncludeJihad Treatise Impact in IndiaJihadist PropagandaWomens Legal Testimony in IslamIslamic Legal Issues in Iran
This is an important and prestigious volume showcasing leading progressive Islamic thinkers. It includes new essay by controversial public intellectual and Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan. It offers strong appeal to policymakers and as well as students and scholars of religion and the Middle East.How are Muslims to reconcile their beliefs with the pressures and imperatives of the modern world? How should they handle the tension between their roles as private citizens and their religious affiliations and identities? This groundbreaking volume shows in what ways prominent Muslim intellectuals have themselves attempted to bridge the gap by recasting traditional Islamic notions in the light of contemporary understandings of equality, justice and pluralism. The contributors to the book examine the tradition that they seek to reform in relation to the human rights ethic of the modern world. The new wave of Islamic thinking which they represent emerges as multi-stranded rather than defined by a single trend or doctrine.Themes covered include a deconstruction of patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an; the distinctions between universal and context-specific parts of Islamic texts; a re-contextualisation of Shari'a law; and a critique of religious jurisprudence, particularly where this impacts on matters of sex and gender. Old texts are re-interpreted through the lived situations of real people today. The result is an indispensable portrayal of progressive Islamic thought in the twenty-first century, which will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of religion, ethics and Middle East studies.
“Authenticity” has begun to rival “development” as a key to understanding the political aspirations of the Islamic world. Almost everywhere modernity has laid waste to tradition, those habits and practices deemed to be timeless and true. Imperialism carried European notions of progress into Muslim-dominated parts of the globe, and subsequently Muslims themselves espoused Western practices, techniques, and philosophies. Regimes calling themselves liberal, socialist, and Arab nationalist all embraced modernity as their principal objective. Most of these regimes failed to create the promised better lives their citizens desired. Moreover, ordinary Muslims felt despair as modernity ripped apart families, exposed youngsters to the materialism and hedonism of Western entertainments, heightened social expectations, and undermined religious belief. Even though tradition has proved itself incapable of staving off modernity, the promises and premises of modern development literature have been called into question. Where is the truth around which Muslims can rally? Does modernity require a rejection of tradition? Does the embrace of Islamic ideas necessitate turning away from modernity? Robert D. Lee explores these compelling questions by presenting four contemporary Muslim writers—Muhammad Iqbal, Sayyid Qutb, ‘Ali Shari’ati, and Mohammed Arkoun—all of whom have refused to bow to such a dichotomy of modernity and tradition. This study examines their efforts, deeply influenced by European thinking, to find a truth beyond tradition and modernity—an “authentic” understanding of Islam upon which Muslims can build a future. All four thinkers believe such an authentic understanding can serve as the foundation for a new politics. Lee argues, however, that each of these versions of authenticity suffers shortcomings and falters in its efforts to move from the particularity of culture onto a grander scale of political organization appropriate for the modern world.
Modern Muslim intellectuals have been trying to reestablish a foundation for the revival of Islamic law. In this fascinating study, Daniel Brown assesses the implications of new approaches to the law on contemporary Islamic revivalist movements, and explores the impact of modernity on attitudes toward religious authority generally. This book will make a major contribution to the understanding of contemporary Islam, and will be of interest to scholars of the Middle East and South Asia, and to those teaching Islamic law.
Written by an American Muslim convert who has lived nearly 40 years among the Muslims, the author presents an insiders account of Islams true place within the family of religions, what it means to be a Muslim living in the shadow of the modern world, and how to cultivate a life of spirituality through the way of Islam in todays anti-spiritual environment. Within its pages, history unfolds, mysteries are unveiled, and secrets are revealed that shed light on the great human story of spiritual awakening and fulfillment. This rigorous and highly readable introduction to Islam goes a long way to remedy the lack of historical perspective and the narrowing of intellectual and spiritual scope contributing to the outer and inner crisis of the Muslim world, as well as the poor understanding of this religion in the West. Another significant merit of Herlihys book is the way it sets out the universal principles of Islam, shared with other traditional faiths, and its emphasis on the moral and spiritual fruits of the religion. This work is an invaluable resource for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, providing as it does a solid grounding in the traditional spirit of Islam. Patrick Laude, professor at Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Qatar Readers will find that this timely work by John Herlihy offers a sublime contribution to the field of Islamic Studies. Relevant for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, one of the books major themes is that the Islamic tradition converges with the unanimous tradition residing at the heart of each of the worlds religions. The book reminds us that the foundations of the modern and postmodern world were formulated in revolt from the sacred, which is an essential point to be recognized by anyone seeking to understand the crisis that consumes the contemporary epoch. This work provides ultimate answers to ultimate questions. Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, editor of Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion Amidst widespread miscomprehensions of Islam generated by Western media, readers who wish to understand the true nature of this noble tradition and its related spirituality will find this volume a trustworthy and illuminating guide. As a Western convert, philosopher, and above all practitioner, John Herlihy is well placed to dispel the fog of misunderstanding which often surrounds the subject of Islam. This book will be warmly welcomed by all those wishing to understand the timeless message of Islam, by seekers looking for practical guidance, and by those concerned with fostering a more harmonious global community of religions. Harry Oldmeadow, author of Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy.
This book is principally a study of the complex relationship of religion to modernity. Monica M. Ringer argues that modernity should be understood as the consequence, not the cause, of the new intellectual landscape of the 19th century. Using the lens of Islamic modernism she uncovers the underlying epistemology and methodology of historicism that penetrated the Middle East and South Asia in this period, both forcing and enabling a recalibration of the definition, nature, function and place of religion. She shows that Muslim Modernists, like their counterparts in other religious traditions, engaged in a sophisticated project of theological reform designed to marry their twin commitments to religion and to modernity. They were in conversation not only with European scholarship and Catholic modernism, but more importantly, with their own complex Islamic traditions.
Explores the dynamic relationships between language, politics and society in the Middle East
This volume deals with historical and contemporary articulations of the relation of tension between the civilizing impetus of Muslim traditions, and modern forms, fields and techniques of power. These techniques are associated with the process of state-building, as well as with the related constraints of disciplining, normative cohesion, control of the territory and monitored social differentiation. The contributions conceptualize Muslim traditions as deriving their legitimacy, authority, as well as normative and organizing power from being embedded in the discourses and institutions of Islam, which constitute one major center within world history, by now also encompassing Muslim communities within Western societies.