The Crisis of Muslim History

A host of recent events – well known to all and not in need of rehearsal here – have had, among a variety of other consequences, the unexpected effect of focusing the world’s attention on the diversity of Muslims and the Islamic tradition. The constant talk of “Sunni triangles,” “Shi`ite clerics,”...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Junaid Quadri
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: International Institute of Islamic Thought 2004
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/6c06449f66df4a659d58ad134f76c2b4
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:6c06449f66df4a659d58ad134f76c2b4
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:6c06449f66df4a659d58ad134f76c2b42021-12-02T17:26:06ZThe Crisis of Muslim History10.35632/ajis.v21i4.17572690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/6c06449f66df4a659d58ad134f76c2b42004-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1757https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 A host of recent events – well known to all and not in need of rehearsal here – have had, among a variety of other consequences, the unexpected effect of focusing the world’s attention on the diversity of Muslims and the Islamic tradition. The constant talk of “Sunni triangles,” “Shi`ite clerics,” and “Wahhabi radicals,” however, raises important questions about what precisely divides the Muslim community along these lines. For Ayoub, the roots of this sectarianism can be found, at least in part, in the crucial historical time period known as the Rashidite (or “Rightly Guided”) caliphate. It is the “political and socio-religious crisis” (p. 4) of this era (stretching from the death of the Prophet until `Ali’s assassination) and its implications for subsequent generations, that form the subject matter of this book. Ayoub envisions his work as filling a void found in most general introductions to Islam, which for all their other merits, often fail to provide a clear account of this formative period of Islamic history. As for those who have ventured to write in the area, Ayoub considers the works of both Muslim and western scholars to be fraught with the political and theological biases of their authors. His desire to avoid this pitfall motivates him to adopt the novel approach of letting the “primary sources of Muslim thought and history” (p. 4) speak for themselves, a tack not unlike the one he uses in his important contribution to tafsir studies: The Qur’an and Its Interpreters. Using this methodology, Ayoub seeks to construct and present a balanced account of the major historical events of the Rashidite era in an effort to explore the interaction between considerations of religion and politics in early Islamic understandings of the nature of authority. His analysis of the various claims to the caliphate advanced by Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, and `Ali, as well as by less successful contenders, is aimed at supporting his central assertion that because “the Prophet died without leaving a clear political system” (p. 22), the Companions did not agree – indeed they vehemently disagreed – on answers to questions of political authority: ... Junaid QuadriInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 21, Iss 4 (2004)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Islam
BP1-253
spellingShingle Islam
BP1-253
Junaid Quadri
The Crisis of Muslim History
description A host of recent events – well known to all and not in need of rehearsal here – have had, among a variety of other consequences, the unexpected effect of focusing the world’s attention on the diversity of Muslims and the Islamic tradition. The constant talk of “Sunni triangles,” “Shi`ite clerics,” and “Wahhabi radicals,” however, raises important questions about what precisely divides the Muslim community along these lines. For Ayoub, the roots of this sectarianism can be found, at least in part, in the crucial historical time period known as the Rashidite (or “Rightly Guided”) caliphate. It is the “political and socio-religious crisis” (p. 4) of this era (stretching from the death of the Prophet until `Ali’s assassination) and its implications for subsequent generations, that form the subject matter of this book. Ayoub envisions his work as filling a void found in most general introductions to Islam, which for all their other merits, often fail to provide a clear account of this formative period of Islamic history. As for those who have ventured to write in the area, Ayoub considers the works of both Muslim and western scholars to be fraught with the political and theological biases of their authors. His desire to avoid this pitfall motivates him to adopt the novel approach of letting the “primary sources of Muslim thought and history” (p. 4) speak for themselves, a tack not unlike the one he uses in his important contribution to tafsir studies: The Qur’an and Its Interpreters. Using this methodology, Ayoub seeks to construct and present a balanced account of the major historical events of the Rashidite era in an effort to explore the interaction between considerations of religion and politics in early Islamic understandings of the nature of authority. His analysis of the various claims to the caliphate advanced by Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, and `Ali, as well as by less successful contenders, is aimed at supporting his central assertion that because “the Prophet died without leaving a clear political system” (p. 22), the Companions did not agree – indeed they vehemently disagreed – on answers to questions of political authority: ...
format article
author Junaid Quadri
author_facet Junaid Quadri
author_sort Junaid Quadri
title The Crisis of Muslim History
title_short The Crisis of Muslim History
title_full The Crisis of Muslim History
title_fullStr The Crisis of Muslim History
title_full_unstemmed The Crisis of Muslim History
title_sort crisis of muslim history
publisher International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate 2004
url https://doaj.org/article/6c06449f66df4a659d58ad134f76c2b4
work_keys_str_mv AT junaidquadri thecrisisofmuslimhistory
AT junaidquadri crisisofmuslimhistory
_version_ 1718380855539269632