Any effort at the reconstruction of Islamic thought, whether in the modern period or medieval period, has to sift through the debris of history in order to explore the limits of the material-cum... Show moreAny effort at the reconstruction of Islamic thought, whether in the modern period or medieval period, has to sift through the debris of history in order to explore the limits of the material-cum-historical in its encounter with what is transcendent. This is one of many lessons I took from the Muslim Intellectuals workshop in April 2000 organized by ISIM. This gathering to a large extent was also about history: how do Muslims with their inherited subjectivities navigate an era that is very different to what their forebears in time experienced? Show less
In 1903, Duncan Black Macdonald (1863-1943), a prominent early scholar of Islam in the United States, wrote that Islam does not allow constitutionalism because the caliph 'cannot set up beside... Show moreIn 1903, Duncan Black Macdonald (1863-1943), a prominent early scholar of Islam in the United States, wrote that Islam does not allow constitutionalism because the caliph 'cannot set up beside himself a constitutional assembly and give it rights against himself. He is the successor of Muhammad and must rule, within [divine] limitations, as an absolute monarch.' Yet within a few years of that statement, some of the leading scholars of the Islamic world were arguing exactly the contrary. Muhammad ' Abduh (Egypt, 1849-1905) - the highest-ranking religious official in Egypt - wrote privately in 1904 that he supported a parliamentary democracy. In 1908, Mehmed Cemaleddin Efendi (Turkey, 1848-1917) - the chief religious authority of the Ottoman Empire, appointed directly by the caliph - said that he too supported constitutionalism. Also in 1908, two senior scholars of Shi'i Islam telegraphed their support at a crucial moment in Iran's Constitutional Revolution: 'We would like to know if it would be possible to execute Islamic provisions without a constitutional regime!' Show less
