Modern Islamic Authority and Social Change, Volume 1

Masooda Bano (editor)
Paperback, 384 pages
9781474433235

Evolving Debates in Muslim Majority Countries

A comparative analysis of key Islamic authority platforms and their debates

At the turn of the twenty-first century, scholarship and policy debate on Islam and Muslim societies has come to focus primarily on Islam’s ability to make young Muslims gravitate towards anti-modernity movements. Many attribute Islamic militancy, as well as the general socio-economic and political stagnation experienced in some Muslim societies, to Islamic theological or legal dictates. Yet Islamic scholarly tradition is highly pluralistic, and today’s leading Islamic authority structures are developing competing conceptual and methodological approaches which vary greatly in their ability to engage with societal change.

This volume focuses on the four most influential Islamic authority structures with a visible following among Muslims around the globe. It makes a major contribution to refining our understanding of the plurality of Islamic tradition in contemporary times, helping to counter the dominant narrative of an inevitable clash of civilisations. It presents evidence of great creative energy within many Islamic scholarly platforms (old as well as new); an energy which aims to provide dynamic answers to modern day challenges from within the Islamic legal and theological tradition.

Contents

Section 1: al-Azhar University and Mosque Network

1. al-Azhar University: A Crisis of Authority, Masooda Bano

2. History and Continuity: al-Azhar and Egypt, Nathan Spannaus

3. al-Azhar, Wasaṭiyyah, and the Wāqi‘, Pooya Razavian

Section 2: Saudi-Salafism

4. Saudi Salafism Amid Rapid Social Change, Masooda Bano

5. Evolution of Saudi Salafism, Nathan Spannaus

6. Post-Salafism: Salman al-Odah and Hatim al-‘Awni, Pooya Razavian

Section 3: Deobandi Madrasash Network

7. The Deobandi Network: Steadfast in taqlīd, Masooda Bano

8. Darul Uloom Deoband and South Asian Islam, Nathan Spannaus

9. Deoband’s Conservatism: The Darul Ifta, Nadwatul Ulama and Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Pooya Razavian

Section 4: Diyanet

10. Diyanet: Taking Center Stage, Masooda Bano

11. Religion in the Service of the State: Diyanet and Republican Turkey, Nathan Spannaus

12. Turkish Islamic Debates: Diyanet, Hayrettin Karaman, and Recep Şentürk, Masooda Bano and Emre Caliskan