Contemporary Debates in Islam

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Introduction: Contemporary Debates in Islam: Modernism versus Fundamentalism

      • Mansoor Moaddel, Kamran Talattof

      Pages 1-21

3. Islamic Modernism

   1. Jurisprudence, Rational Sciences, and Differentiation of Knowledge

      1. Religion versus Science

         • Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani

         Pages 23-28

      2. Islamic Revealed Law Versus Islamic Common Law

         • Moulavi Chiragh Ali

         Pages 29-34

      3. The Rationalistic and Philosophical Spirit of Islam

         • Amir Ali

         Pages 35-40

      4. The Sociological Laws of the Quran

         • Muhammad Abduh

         Pages 41-43

      5. The Necessity of Religious Reform

         • Muhammad Abduh

         Pages 45-51

      6. Methodology of Historical Writing

         • ‘Allama Shibli Nu‘mani

         Pages 53-69

   2. Islam and Politics

      1. War and Peace: Popular Jihad

         • Moulavi Chiragh Ali

         Pages 71-94

      2. The Problem of Caliphate

         • Ah Abd al-Raziq

         Pages 95-100

      3. Authority and the Problem of Succession

         • Amir Ali

         Pages 101-108

      4. Intellectual Pluralism and Freedom of Opinion

         • Sayyid Ahmad Khan

         Pages 109-121

   3. Islam And Western Civilization

      1. Social Liberalism and Laissez-Faire Capitalism

         • Anonymous Mu‘Tazilite Muslim

         Pages 123-134

      2. Islam and Civilization

         • Muhammad Farid Wajdi

         Pages 135-143

   4. Islamic Modernism and the Issue of Women

      1. Polygamy

         • Moulavi Chiragh Ali

         Pages 145-157

      2. The Rights of Women

         • Sayyid Ahmad Khan

         Pages 159-161

      3. The Liberation of Women

         • Qasim Amin

         Pages 163-181

   5. Style of Living

      1. The Way of Life

         • Sayyid Ahmad Khan

         Pages 183-185

      2. The Way to Eat a Meal

         • Sayyid Ahmad Khan

         Pages 187-188

      3. Civil Rights

         • Rifa‘ah Rifa al-Tahtawi

         Pages 189-196

Also available in paperback as "Modernist and Fundamentalist Debates in Islam"During the second half of the nineteenth century, a group of prominent Muslim theologians began to critically examine classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence and devised a new approach to Islamic theology. This new approach was nothing short of an outright rebellion against Islamic orthodoxy, displaying an astonishing compatibility with nineteenth century Enlightenment-era thought. In the 20th century this modernist movement declined, to be replaced by another cultural episode, characterized by the growing power of Islamic fundamentalism. This volume looks at these two very different approaches to Islam. The editors have selected the most prominent Islamic thinkers of modernist and fundamentalist viewpoints, diverse nationalities, and from both the late decades of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the 20th century. The writers discuss their own views with regard to such issues as philosophical and political perceptions of democracy, the state, the history of Islam, women's rights, personal lifestyle, education, and the West.

• bibliography
• history
• Iran
• Islam
• methods
• religion
• religious studies
• Ritual
• society
• theology

Mansoor Moaddel is a Professor in the Near East Studies Department at Princeton University.

Kamran Talattof is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology at Eastern Michigan University.

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