After September 11, Islam became nearly synonymous with fundamentalism in the eyes of Western media and literature. However widely held this view may be, it is at odds with Islam’s rich political history. Renowned Egyptian scholar Nasr Abû Zayd here considers the full breadth of contemporary Muslim writings to examine the diverse political, religious, and cultural views that inform discourse in the Islamic world. Reformation of Islamic Thought explores the writings of intellectuals from Egypt to Iran to Indonesia, probing their efforts to expand Islam beyond traditional and legalistic interpretations. Zayd reveals that many Muslim thinkers advocate culturally enlightened Islam with an emphasis on individual faith. He then investigates the extent of these Muslim reformers’ success in generating an authentic renewal of Islamic ideology, asking if such thinkers have escaped the traditionalist trap of presenting a negative image to the West. A fascinating and highly relevant study for our times, Reformation of Islamic Thought is an essential analysis of Islam’s present and future.

Early modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture. Mehmet Karabela brings the neglected voices of post-Reformation theologians, primarily German Lutherans, into focus and reveals their rigorous engagement with Islamic thought. Inspired by a global history approach to religious thought, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes offers new sources to broaden the conventional interpretation of the Reformation beyond a solely European Christian phenomenon. Based on previously unstudied dissertations, disputations, and academic works written in Latin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karabela analyzes three themes: Islam as theology and religion; Islamic philosophy and liberal arts; and Muslim sects (Sunni and Shi‘a). This book provides analyses and translations of the Latin texts as well as brief biographies of the authors. These texts offer insight into the Protestant perception of Islamic thought for scholars of religious studies and Islamic studies as well as for general readers. Examining the influence of Islamic thought on the construction of the Protestant identity after the Reformation helps us to understand the role of Islam in the evolution of Christianity.

Credits p. vii A note on transliteration p. viii Introduction Kari Vogt and Lena Larsen and Christian Moe p. 1 Part 1 The Changeable and the Unchangeable p. 7 1 The changeable and the unchangeable Abdolkarim Soroush p. 9 2 "Hold(ing) fast by the best in the precepts"--The Qur'an and method Asma Barlas p. 17 3 Law and ethics in Islam - The role of the maqasid Mohammad Hashim Kamali p. 23 4 Human rights and intellectual Islam Mohsen Kadivar p. 47 Part 2 The Challenge of Equality p. 75 5 Classical fiqh, contemporary ethics and gender justice Ziba Mir-Hosseini p. 77 6 Timeless texts and modern morals - Challenges in Islamic sexual ethics Kecia Ali p. 89 7 Gender equality and Islamic law - The case of Morocco Aicha El Hajjami p. 101 8 Historical and political dynamics of the "women and Islam" issue - The Turkish case Nazife Sisman p. 113 Part 3 Authority and Islamic Normativity p. 127 9 Islamic authority Khaled Abou El Fadl p. 129 10 A theory of Islam, state and society Abdullahi A. An-Na'im p. 145 11 A call for a moratorium on corporal punishment - The debate in review Tariq Ramadan p. 163 12 Negotiating gender rights under religious law in Malaysia Zainah Anwar p. 175 13 The changing concepts of caliphate - Social construction of Shari'a and the question of ethics Muhammad Khalid Masud p. 187 Part 4 Dialogue on New Directions p. 207 14 Can the State enforce Shari'a? - A discussion in Yogyakarta Kari Vogt and Lena Larsen and Christian Moe p. 209 Contributors p. 221 Notes p. 227 Index p. 257.

In this new book, Tariq Ramadan argues that it is crucial to find theoretical and practical solutions that will enable Western Muslims to remain faithful to Islamic ethics while fully living within their societies and their time. He notes that Muslim scholars often refer to the notion of ijtihad (critical and renewed reading of the foundational texts) as the only way for Muslims to take up these modern challenges. But, Ramadan argues, in practice such readings have effectively reached the limits of their ability to serve the faithful in the West as well as the East. In this book he sets forward a radical new concept of ijtihad, which puts context -- including the knowledge derived from the hard and human sciences, cultures and their geographic and historical contingencies -- on an equal footing with the scriptures as a source of Islamic law.

As a Protestant theologian and diciple of renowned critics of Christianity, Albert Schweitzer and Martin Werner, the Author wanted since long to contribute to the breakthrough of their resolute nontrinitarian position which has throughout the twentieth century by all and every Western Christian university theology been silenced by pretending tacitly and tenaciously the non-existence of their strong argument.

It is the author’s contention that at the heart of the Muslim predicament lies ignorance and/or lack of commitment to core Islamic values, thus what is advocated throughout this work is a return to what is termed a “value-oriented” approach. We further learn that with the passage of time what we today consider to be the Shariah is in effect an original hub enveloped in a labyrinthine shroud of scholastic views and deductions hindering Muslim development, and to rely on fraudulent hadith and fallacious implementation of hudud law is not only to betray the spirit of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s message, but a disastrous exercise. Consequences being blatant abuse of the Muslim populace under cover of implementing a bogus Shariah. This abuse and misapplication is explored throughout the work.