Innovation in Islamic Thought

Title: Innovation in Islamic Thought

Author: Naṣr Ḥāmid Abu Zayd

Binding: Paperback

EAN: 9789054600176

Condition: Good

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Description:
After the arrival of Islam in the seventh century, this world religion experienced a period of great intellectual and material flourishing. From the twelfth century onwards, however, Islamic thought has hardly been renewed and the heritage has been rehashed, summarized and elevated to dogma. The short-lived Arab renaissance at the end of the nineteenth century added a political dimension to the rigid positions. It is therefore a perilous undertaking in this day and age to formulate proposals that can revive Islamic thought after so many centuries of rigidity.

The author advocates and works on a well-founded historical investigation and reinterpretation of the two most important sources of Islam: the Koran and the traditions of Mohammed. In his opinion, the intentions of these sources must be set against the social, political and cultural situation of the time of their origin. For example, Abu Zaid concludes that the legal position of women should be equal to that of men, that mosque and state should be separated, and that the traditional application of Islamic law does not meet the requirements of the present time.

This collection of articles has been compiled in consultation with the author for a Dutch audience and translated by Fred Leemhuis, Rob Leemhuis and Uitgeverij Bulaaq.

Nasr Hamid Aboe Zaid (1943) is a professor of Arabic studies at the University of Cairo and Leiden University. In the Arab-Islamic world he is considered one of the most important thinkers and innovators in his field, an unenviable position that put him and his wife in the spotlight as a result of a bizarre conflict that brought them to the Netherlands. Another book about him was: My life with Islam (Gottmer, 2002).