How to apply Islam to the modern, secularworld?

Three major strands of thought:

Traditionalists

Islamists

Modernists

Traditionalists

Look to rigid adherence to Islamic past forguidance, but tradition has changed overtime

Question of how to legitimise change esp. inface of long-established life patterns

“Neo-Traditionalists” advocating cautiouschange

Islamists a.k.a “Literalists”or “Fundamentalists”

Advocating return to Qur’an and hadith assources of wisdom, rejecting traditionalinterpretations. See this as leading torevival of Islam

Often anti-intellectualist and anti-philosophy

Extremist Islamists tend to dominate media.Advocating armed struggle,with polarised worldviews

Sayyid Qutb(d. 1966)

Modernists

See Islam as needing to adapt to modern world,often looking to moral precepts behindlegal injunctions

Embrace useful modern developments, but leavefaith to individual

Law needs to be adapted to circumstancesthrough thoughtful interpretation ofQur’an and hadith

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (d. 1897)

Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905)

Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938)

Modernists

Islam can be basis of political as well aspersonal life, but needs to be flexible

Strong advocates of use of reason ininterpretation of texts. Interpretationsmay be radical in light of modernideas of democracy, freedom, equality,tolerance and social justice (seen asvalues inherent in Islam anyway)

Case Study - Polygamy

Traditionalists accept polygamy, because it hasalways been practiced

Islamists look to Qur’an and saythat it was advocating monogamy but allowedfor older practices that are no longer relevant

Modernists say that since the sexes are equal, andmonogamy aims for social welfare whilepolygamy is potentially problematic, shouldstick with monogamy. View Qur’an assupporting position

How do we approach a 7th c. scripture inthe modern day?

Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905)

Modernist, seeking to use Islam as filter formodern progress

Seeking to make Qur’an more accessible andapplicable to modern day

Tafsir al-Manar (Interpretation of theLighthouse/Minaret)

Qur’an as encouraging reason, education andpolitical independence

Ambiguities encouraging attention to spiritualworld

Rulings as tied to context in which revealed

Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905)

Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966)

Radical Islamist and extremist member ofMuslim Brotherhood

Initially attracted to westernisation, thenrejected it after visit to America in1949-51

Advocated Islamic state in Egypt with Islamicinstitutions

Fi Zilal al-Qur’an (In the Shade of theQur’an)

Qur’an as complete blueprint for society,needing group like Muslim Brotherhoodto implement it properly

Emphasis on Qur’an’s artistic/literary merits

Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966)

World divided into good and evil. Individualobligation to fight evil

Military jihad

Muslims who do not fight evil are apostates,may be killed

Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966)

Issues at stake:

Qur’an as eternal, uncreated word of God

How do we understand and implement it?

Questions of historical context, degree towhich it should be taken literally

Impact on law

When does interpretation lead to heresy?

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1872-1953)

Indian scholar best known for translatingQur’an into English

Originally Shi‘ite, but was concernedfor all Muslims. Also mysticaltendencies

Born Bombay. Educated at Muslim school inIndia, then degree at Cambridge.Worked in Indian civil service.Supported British presence in India.Died in London

Translation of Qur’an shows modernist andmystical tendencies, has led someIslamists to try and expurgate what theysee as unorthodox

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1872-1953)

Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) andMuhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935)

Abduh was pupil of al-Afghani. Rida waspupil of Abduh. Both were modernists,advocating Islamic reform in face ofmodern world

Together worked on Abduh’s journal Al-Manar,which included Tafsir al-Manar,commentary on Qur’an