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"Islamic sects Doctrines"
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Early Ibadi Theology
In this volume newly discovered, re-edited texts by al-Fazārī are presented, with previously lacking fragments included, texts that had already begun to offer new perspectives on Islamic ʿilm al-kalām, including on its origins and the sources of its concepts and debating techniques.
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Preserving Islamic tradition : Abū Naṣr Qūrṣāwī and the beginnings of modern reformism
Abu Nasr Qursawi (1776–1812) was a major figure in the history of the Muslim communities of the Russian Empire. An important religious scholar, he wrote works calling for the reform of the Islamic scholarly tradition that shaped the religious discourse of these communities into the 20th century. Qursawi focused on the construction of Islamic scholarship in the postclassical period (14th–19th centuries), criticizing scholars’ overreliance on taqlid, which had led them to hold incorrect theological views and prevented them from engaging with scripture in legal interpretation (through ijtihad). He argued that all scholarly positions must be verified (tahqiq) to ensure their correctness, and ijtihad was an obligation upon all Muslims to determine their own actions. Though critical, his reformism was grounded within the existing scholarly tradition, and its content was not subject to European influence. Nevertheless, it can be seen as a response to the incorporation of Islamic institutions into the bureaucracy of the Russian imperial state in the late 18th century, which remade the exercise of Islamic law and religious authority in the empire. This book analyzes his reformism in reference to its antecedents and sources and in light of these historical shifts. It also addresses the issue of modernity, arguing that although his reformism is grounded in the postclassical tradition, it is also an early example of Islamic modernism. It is, however, distinct from Jadidism, the 20th-century reform movement, despite frequent claims to contrary, as Jadidism instead grew out of transformations in the Volga-Ural religious environment postdating Qursawi.
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Moral agents and their deserts
Must good deeds be rewarded and wrongdoers punished? Would God be unjust if He failed to punish and reward? And what is it about good or evil actions and moral identity that might generate such necessities? These were some of the vital religious and philosophical questions that eighth- and ninth-century Mu'tazilite theologians and their sophisticated successors attempted to answer, giving rise to a distinctive ethical position and one of the most prominent and controversial intellectual trends in medieval Islam. The Mu'tazilites developed a view of ethics whose distinguishing features were its austere moral objectivism and the crucial role it assigned to reason in the knowledge of moral truths. Central to this ethical vision was the notion of moral desert, and of the good and evil consequences--reward or punishment--deserved through a person's acts.
Moral Agents and Their Desertsis the first book-length study of this central theme in Mu'tazilite ethics, and an attempt to grapple with the philosophical questions it raises. At the same time, it is a bid to question the ways in which modern readers, coming to medieval Islamic thought with a philosophical interest, seek to read and converse with Mu'tazilite theology.Moral Agents and Their Desertstracks the challenges and rewards involved in the pursuit of the right conversation at the seams between modern and medieval concerns.
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What is Shi'i Islam?
For the public at large Shi’ism often implies a host of confused representations, suggesting more often than not obscurantism, intolerance, political violence and other ignominies running hot or cold in response to world events. In fact for many people, Shi’ism stands for “radical Islam”, or – worse – “Islamic terrorism”. In some respects, nothing is more familiar than Shi’ism, and yet nothing is more misunderstood. For some twenty years the media have increased their coverage of the phenomenon. Never, or only rarely, do they formulate the question we ask here: what is Shi’ism? What is this belief that inspires millions of people dispersed throughout the world?
This book provides a broad-based introduction to Shi’i Islam. It examines what the Shi’i believe, how they see themselves and how they view the world. It includes a thorough examination of doctrine, philosophy, the Shi’i approach to the Qur’an and the historical evolution of Shi’ism as a branch of Islam. Too often, and too quickly, the conclusion is drawn that Shi’ism is a marginal heretical sect, fundamentally alien to the deeper truth of the great religion of Islam, thrust by historical accident onto the political stage. Shi’ism either speaks the truth of Islam, meaning that it is a truth of terror, or it is entirely foreign to Islam and, therefore, merits outright rejection, as Islamic fundamentalists and some individuals repeatedly claim. This book intends to explain why such common misunderstandings of Shi’ism have taken root.
Written in an accessible format and providing a thorough overview of Shi’ism, this book will be an essential text for students and scholars of Islamic Studies or Iranian Studies.
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The Wahhabis Seen through European Eyes (1772-1830)
In The Wahhabis seen through European Eyes (1772-1830) Giovanni Bonacina offers an account of the early reactions in Europe to the rise of the Wahhabi movement in Arabia. Commonly pictured nowadays as a form of Muslim fundamentalism, the Wahhabis appeared to many European witnesses as the creators of a deistic revolution with serious political consequences for the Ottoman ancien regime. They were seen either in the light of contemporary events in France, or as Islamic theological reformers in the mould of Calvin, opposing an established church and devotional traditions. These audacious but fascinating attempts to interpret the unknown by way of the better known are illustrated in Bonacina's book.
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Chosen among women : Mary and Fatima in medieval Christianity and Shi'ite Islam
Chosen among Women: Mary and Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi`ite Islam combines historical analysis with the tools of gender studies and religious studies to compare the roles of the Virgin Mary in medieval Christianity with those of Fatima, daughter of the prophet Muhammad, in Shi`ite Islam. The book explores the proliferation of Marian imagery in Late Antiquity through the Church fathers and popular hagiography. It examines how Merovingian authors assimilated powerful queens and abbesses to a Marian prototype to articulate their political significance and, at the same time, censure holy women's public charisma. Mary Thurlkill focuses as well on the importance of Fatima in the evolution of Shi`ite identity throughout the Middle East. She examines how scholars such as Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi advertised Fatima as a symbol of the Shi`ite holy family and its glorified status in paradise, while simultaneously binding her as a mother to the domestic sphere and patriarchal authority. This important comparative look at feminine ideals in both Shi`ite Islam and medieval Christianity is of relevance and value in the modern world. It will be welcomed by scholars and students of Islam, comparative religion, medieval Christianity, and gender studies.
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The Mission and the Kingdom
In the wake of September 11th instant theories have emerged that try to root Osama Bin Laden's attacks on Wahhabism. Muslim critics have dismissed this conservative interpretation of Islam that is the official creed of Saudi Arabia as an unorthodox innovation that manipulated a suggestible people to gain political influence. David Commins’ book questions this assumption. He examines the debate on the nature of Wahhabism, and offers original findings on its ascendance in Saudi Arabia and spread throughout other parts of the Muslim world such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also assesses the challenge that radical militants within Saudi Arabia pose to the region, and draws conclusions which will concern all those who follow events in the Kingdom. The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia is essential reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and Islamic radicalism today.
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