The Argumentative Muslim

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Price: Rs 795

Pages: 363

To say that West Asia is now in a state of “ferment” or “churn” is to use very anodyne terms to describe the tumult in the region. There is,though,the risk of offering far more colour and noise than is necessary,if you think that “Arab Spring” is enough explanation. Developments,taking place at a quicksilver pace but with profound consequences for the region and the world,are still being absorbed and understood. Categories like “radical” or “moderate”,“good” or “bad” Muslim,or even “coup” and “democracy” are almost meaningless in describing the loud and open debate within the countries.

In a remarkable piece in The Times,London,on July 11,Egyptian author Alaa Al-Aswanny argued how “the army didn’t stage a coup-d’etat; rather,it carried out the will of the people in exceptional circumstances to oust a president who had lost his legitimacy.” It’s Aswanny’s contention that it took just a year for the people,so far victims of Mobarak-ism,to

distinguish between Islam and Islamism and move quickly to save themselves “from Mobarak and from religious fanaticism”.

It is clear that whether it is in Egypt,Tunisia or Bangladesh,wherever there isn’t armed intervention like in Libya or its threat (as in Syria),debates within the Muslim world have not been so loud,clear and self-affirming in decades: Islam versus Islamism is being debated in public squares at full volume.

The role of those reporting “freely and fairly” is also being scrutinised. The CNN and the BBC are easy targets but even that formerly independent platform,Al Jazeera,is being looked at anew. Questions are being asked if the tone of its reporting can be completely separated from the ambitions of the fastest emerging player in the region,Qatar. Moreover,if we consider Saudi Arabia’s barely concealed animosity for Iran,where the recently concluded elections confounded not only Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but also most observers,it is evident that West Asia is all about carrying forward the conversation “within” in the most radical

way imaginable.

It is in this context that Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age by Muhammed Qasim Zaman,a scholarly look at internal debates within Islam,finds great resonance. Puncturing the boring but pervasive idea of Islam as a monolith,the book explores the many shades of Islam and being Muslim. A complex and detailed account,it looks at the work of prominent 18th and 19th century Arabic and south Asian Islamic religious leaders and tries to understand conversations within the community on Islamic tenets and principles,and how they need to be interpreted.

The objective of the book is most lucidly stated in a footnote to the ‘ntroduction’: the author says that the purpose of the book is “not the sort of reform that is dictated by westernising,colonial and post-colonial categories of analysis but rather in how traditionally educated scholars — who themselves frequently invoke the idea and necessity of reform — have tried to rethink their tradition from within.” The author discusses the ideas of Islamic scholars like Muhammed Rashid Rida,Yusuf Al-Qaradawi,Ubayd Allah Sindhi and Anwarshah Kashmiri in detail. He examines the differences among followers of the Deoband school,and how 1947 partitioned its ideas and beliefs,with the Deoband madrasa established in Pakistan being responsible for some of the most defining events in Pakistan’s political history: for example,it led the charge in declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims.

But keeping the focus only on the internal debate amongst traditionalists,without a deeper and detailed enagement with the events in the Muslim world or the larger world that the Muslims of these regions inhabited,is a very brave effort,and perhaps too brave. Gamal Abdel Nasser and the impact of ‘Nasserism’ on the Arab world; Gandhi and the Indian national movement’s engagement with Muslims not just as fellow citizens but through their relationship to the Caliphate in Istanbul; the emergence of the House of Al Saud around the same time as the Ottoman empire was defeated; the fight for Pakistan and the vigorous opposition it met from Indian-Muslim scholars — all of these make it difficult to talk about and understand the ulema (scholars of Islam) only through the lens of an “internal” debate on “tradition” without explaining their thinking in a changing political context.

That said,the author has done well to tackle questions of ijma (consensus) and ijtihad (debate/interpretation),and the role of women and socio-economic justice and Islam,with a great deal of sophistication. He also shows how the ulema often sought to undermine any attempts at authentic ijtihad by championing it themselves and pretending to be engaged in refreshing their interpretation of Islam. The book also honestly confronts the ambiguity and contradiction that arises within the ulema on questions of terror,women’s rights and,more fundamentally,if Islamic teachings need to be reassessed at all.

Zaman sheds light on how,historically,even basic aspects of Islam have been subject to numerous interpretations by the ulema. It helps in understanding the diversity within the faith,as well as the battle on in many public squares,which is almost akin to the legendary fight between the Church and the state. All in all,reading the book now is like opening a window to let in some light on what might appear to be simply news. For making sense of ijtihad live,Zaman’s is a useful companion.