Download Contemporary Legal Thought in Islam /LAW 163

Contemporary Legal Thought in Islam /LAW 163 – Course Overview
Autumn 2007-8
4 Units – 20 sessions, 100 Minutes Each, MW: 2:00-3:40pm
Instructor: Abdul-Rahman Mustafa
Ext: 2229
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: One hour after class or by appointment
T. A: Hajrah Khan
Email: [email protected]
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Course Description
This course explores contemporary Islamic legal theories on the topics of law, legislation,
jurisprudence and constitutionalism. It also examines contemporary Islamic legal
thinking on democracy, legal systems, the Islamic nation-state, the legitimacy of
domestic and international legal orders, war, and world order. It critically examines the
views of contemporary scholars and activist movements and asks whether and to what
extent their theories are internally consistent and sufficiently comprehensive to provide
an alternative to traditional and classical theories. One of its purposes is to enhance
understanding of Islamic extremism, terrorism and militancy by illuminating one of the
contexts-that of Islamic law-within which violent Islamist extremists claim justification
for terrorist acts.
The course is divided into three modules and each module explores contemporary legal
thinking in Islam in a specific area.
Module 1: The Law
This part explores Islamic thinking on the nature of law and legal theory itself. In essence
it explores the way jurists, both classical and contemporary, have thought about their own
respective subjects. The course introduces some classical Islamic legal theory and
explores the concept of renewal and reform of the law as outlined by pre-modern legal
theory. It examines the way Islamic legal doctrine was changed and how such changes
were justified in classical times. It also looks at the specific dynamics of particular
“reformist” movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The course also
examines the new legal theories of a variety of modern Muslim thinkers such as Abduh,
Iqbal, Fazlur Rahman, Ghamdi and others. The views of these thinkers are contrasted
with classical thinking on the subject.
Module 2: The State
Classical Islamic theory deals extensively with the subject of siyasa shar’iah or the law
relating to politics. This module introduces the classical views on this subject. It then tries
to identify the principles on which Islamic thinkers, both classical and contemporary,
have labeled states as Islamic or un-Islamic. The course also explores classical and
modern Islamic anarchist theories which essentially challenge the legitimacy of the State
itself or of the specific legal order governing a State. It also asks whether and to what
extent there was a divide between the religious and the secular functions of the State in
the classical period and examines the views of contemporary scholars on this question.
The course also investigates the effect of colonialism on modern Islamic political thought
and asks to what extent contemporary Islamic political thought is influenced by Western
thought and by classical Islamic thought.
Module 3: World Order
The third part of the course looks at Islamic discourse regarding the relationship of the
Islamic State and Muslims with the rest of the world. The views of pre-modern Islamic
scholars on the role of the Islamic state and the Muslim ummah, the concept of offensive
and defensive jihad, and the law and philosophy of jihad are explored and compared with
reference to modern jihadists. The course looks in detail at some of the contemporary
debates regarding jihad, its obligation, the kinds of activities that might be legitimately
carried out in jihad and examines the role of contemporary jurists in these debates.
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Course Details
Prerequisites:
None
Readings:
Students will be provided with two reading packages containing essential and
background readings. Class discussions will be focused on essential readings and it will
be assumed that background readings have been done.
Grading:
There will be three unannounced quizzes which will test students on material from their
reading packages AND class discussions. Each student will also write a 3,000-word (1012 pages) essay. Attendance is mandatory.
Class Participation
20%
Unannounced Quizzes
15%
Term Paper
25%
Final Exam
40%
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Course Outline
[R – essential/required readings; r – background/reference readings]
Module 1: The Law
Session 1
Introduction and Outline
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Session 2
[Islamic Law and Legal Theory]
o John Esposito ed., Encyclopedia of Islam, Collection of articles– Islah, Tajdid,
Revivalism, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida, Salafiyya, Wahhabism, Ibn Taimiya,
Shatibi, Mawdudi, Qutb, [R]
o John Voll, “Renewal and Reform in Islamic History: Tajdid and Islah” Voices of
Resurgent Islam ed. John L. Esposito (1983) (32-48) [R]
o Muhammad Qasim Zaman, The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of
Change (2004) Chapter VI and Epilogue (144-193) [R]
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Session 3
[Shatibi and Ibn Taimiya]
o Wael Hallaq A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunni Usul
ul Fiqh,(1997) (162-206) [R]
o Muhammad Umar Memon, Ibn Taimiya’s Struggle Against Popular Religion
(1976) (229-241) [R]
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Session 4
[Ashmawi, Fazlur Rahman]
o William E. Shepard, Muhammad Said Al-Ashmawi and the Application of the
Sharia in Egypt [r] Int. J. Middle East. Stud. 28 (1996) 39-58 [r]
o Wael Hallaq A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunni Usul
ul Fiqh,(1997)(231-262) [r]
o Fazlur Rahman, “Islam and Modernity” [R]
o On Fazlur Rahman, Wael Hallaq A History of Islamic Legal Theories, (241-245,
253-254) [R]
o Rahman. Islamic Modernism:Its Scope, Method, and Alternatives” International
Journal of Middle East Studies (1970) (329-333) [R]
o “Fazlur Rahman: The Islamic Concept of State” Islam in Transition: Muslim
Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982) (261-271) [R]
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Session 5
[Ghamdi]
o Moiz Amjad, Fatawa from understanding-islam.com [R]
o Kamali, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (2006), (58-115) [r]
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Session 6
[Abduh and Rida]
o “Shaykh Muhammad Abduh: Islam, Reason and Civilization” Islam in
Transition: Muslim Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982)
(24-29) [R]
o Muhammad Abduh, “The Sociological Laws of the Quran” Contemporary
Debates in Islam: An Anthology of Modernist and Fundamentalist Thought
Mansoor Moaddel and Kamran Talattof (2000) (41-49) [r]
o “Rashid Rida: Patriotism, Nationalism, and Group Spirit In Islam,” Islam in
Transition: Muslim Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982),
(57-60) [R]
o Hallaq, A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunni Usul ul
Fiqh,(1997) (207-231) [r]
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Session 7
[Iqbal]
o On Iqbal: The Principle of Movement in the Structure of Islam, Liberal Islam ed.
Charles Kurzman [R]
o Muhammad Iqbal: A Separate Muslim State in the Subcontinent” Islam in
Transition: Muslim Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982)
(91-94) [r]
o John L. Esposito, “Muhammad Iqbal and the Islamic State” Voices of Resurgent
Islam ed. John L. Esposito (1983) (175-191) [R]
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Session 8
[Wahabism]
o D.S. Margoliouth, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. XII, ed. James
Hastings, (Edinburgh, 1921) (660-662) [R]
o S.M. Zwemmer, Arabia: The Cradle of Islam: Studies in the Geography, People
and Politics of the Arabian Peninsula with an Account of Islam and MissionWork, (1900) (198) [R]
o Thomas Patrick Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam, (1885), (662) [R]
o John Esposito, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World [R]
o Laoust, ‘Ibn Abdul Wahhab,’ ed. B. Lewis et al The Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol.
III (Leiden, 1971) (677-679) [R]
o Suhaib Hasan [R]
o Durar al Saniyyah [R]
o Aziz Al-Azmeh, Islams and Modernities (1993), (143-160) [r]
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Module 2: The State
Session 9
o Montgomery Watt, Islamic Political Thoughts: Basic Concepts, (3-45) [R]
o Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, Vol. 1, (154-195, 197-226, 247-260,
273-279) [r]
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Session 10
[The Classical Period]
o Patricia Crone, Ninth Century Muslim Anarchists, Past and Present, No. 167.
(May, 2000), (3-28) [R]
o Josef Van Ess, Political Ideas in Early Islamic Religious Thought, British Journal
of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2. (Nov., 2001), (151-164) [r]
o Muhammad Qasim Zaman, The Caliphs, the Ulama, and the Law: Defining the
Role and Function of the Caliph in the Early Abbasid Period, Islamic Law and
Society, Vol. 4, No. 1. (1997), (1-36) [R]
o Mawardi, Ahkam al Sultaniyyah [Ordinances of Government] tr. Wafaa H. Wahba
[R]
o Hanna Mikhail, Politics and Revelation: Mawardi & After (1995) xvi-xxxii, (368) [r]
o Ira M. Lapidus, “The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of
Early Islamic Society” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 6, No.
4. (Oct., 1975), (363-385) [r]
o Aziz Al-Azmeh, Islams and Modernities (1993), (128-143) [r]
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Session 11
[Mawdudi]
o Mawdudi, Islamic State and the Constitution (1967) (40-311) [R]
o Charles J. Adams, “Mawdudi and the Islamic State” Voices of Resurgent Islam,
ed. John L. Esposito, (1983) (99-134) [r]
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Session 12
o Mawdudui, The Islamic Movement: Dynamics of Values, Power and Change
(1984) 5-93 (111-137) [r]
o “Abu-l ‘Ala’ Mawdudi: Nationalism and Islam” Islam in Transition: Muslim
Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982) (94-98) [r]
o “Abu-l ‘Ala’ Mawdudi: Political Theory of Islam” Islam in Transition: Muslim
Perspectives, ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982) (252-261) [r]
o Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi “Fallacy of Rationalism” Contemporary Debates in
Islam: An Anthology of Modernist and Fundamentalist Thought Mansoor
Moaddel and Kamran Talattof (2000) (207-223) [r]
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Session 13
[Sayyid Qutb]
o Majid Khadduri, “Political Justice” and “Justice Among Nations” The Islamic
Conception of Justice (1984) (13-37, 163-173, 201-232) [r]
o Bilal Philips, The Fundamentals of Tawheed: Islamic Monotheism (1990) (1-43)
[r]
o Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Quran [readings on jihad, khilafah, jahiliyya]
[R]
o Yvonne Haddad, “Sayyid Qutb:Ideologue of Islamic Revival” Voices of
Resurgent Islam, ed. John L. Esposito, (1983) (67-98) [r]
o “Sayyid Qutb: Social Justice in Islam” Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives,
ed. John Donohue and John L. Esposito (1982) (123-129) [R]
o Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics (1985),
(16-129) [r]
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Session 14
o Sayyid Qutb, Milestones [R]
o Roxanne L. Euben, “Comparative Political Theory: An Islamic Fundamentalist
Critique of Rationalism” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 59, No. 1. (Feb., 1997),
(28-55) [r]
o Ronald Nettler, “A Modern Islamic Confession of Faith and Conception of
Religion: Sayyid Qutb's Introduction to the Tafsir, fi Zilal al-Qur'an” British
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1. (1994), (102-114) [r]
o Leonard Binder, “The Religious Aesthetic of Sayyid Qutb”, Islamic Liberalism: A
Critique of Development Ideologies (1988), (170-205) [r]
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Session 15
[Modern Islamic Radicalism]
o Al Farida al Gha’ibah [R]
o Mutairi, “Religious Extremism in the Lives of Contemporary Muslims” tr.
Zarabozo [R]
o Maqdisi, Democracy: A Religion [R]
o Maqdisi, Appendix 1 from “ Millat Ibrahim” [R]
o J.J.G. Jansen, The Neglected Duty: The Creed of Sadat’s Assassins and Islamic
Resurgence in the Middle East (1986) (35-62, 159-206) [R]
o John L. Esposito, Islam and Politics, (1998) (234-247) [r]
o Islamic Salvation Front of Algeria “All Encompassing Program of an Islamic
State” Contemporary Debates in Islam: An Anthology of Modernist and
Fundamentalist Thought Mansoor Moaddel and Kamran Talattof (2000) (273301) [r]
o Society of the Muslim Brothers “Boycotting the 1997 Election in Jordan”
Contemporary Debates in Islam: An Anthology of Modernist and Fundamentalist
Thought Mansoor Moaddel and Kamran Talattof (2000) (301-309) [r]
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Module 3: The World
Session 16
[Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong]
o Michael Cook, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Legal
Thought (2000), (13-45,165-192, 505-560) [R]
o Ibn Taimiyah, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong, tr. Salim Morgan [R]
o Michael Cook, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Legal
Thought (2000), 430-502 [r]
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Session 17
[Jihad]
o Sherman Jackson, Domestic Terrorism in the Islamic Legal Tradition, Muslim
World, vol 91 no. 3/4 (2001) (293-310) [R]
o Khaled Abou el Fadl, Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law, (2001) (1-161,
271-279) [R]
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Session 18
o Majid Khadduri, “Political Justice” and “Justice Among Nations” The Islamic
Conception of Justice (1984) (13-39, 161-173) [R]
o Ibn Nahhas, Mashari al Ashwaq ila Masari al Ushaaq wa Mutheer al Gharaam
ila Dar as Salam [R]
o Muhammad Afifi Al-Akiti, Defending the Transgressed by Censuring the
Reckless Against the Killing of Civilians, Fatwa (2005) [R]
o Yusuf al Qaradawi, Returning from the Minor to the Major Jihad, Fatwa [R]
o Abdullah al Azzam, Join the Caravan [R]
o Abdullah al Azzam, Defence of the Muslim Lands: The First Obligation After
Iman [R]
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Session 19
o
o
o
o
Hamoud bin Uqalaa al Shuaybi, Fatwa on Attacks. [R]
Timothy Winter (Abdal Hakam Murad) The Poverty of Fanaticism [R]
Usama Hasan, Recapturing Islam from the Pacifists [R]
Sherman Jackson, “Jihad and the Modern World : To 'Abd al-Karim Salabuddin,”
7 J. Islamic L. & Culture 1( 2002) [R]
o Taqi Usmani, on Jihad [R]
o Ward Churchill, Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens,
(2001) [R]
o David Cook. “The Implications of “Martyrdom Operations” for Contemporary
Islam, Journal of Religious Ethics 32 (2004) 129-151 [r]
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Session 20
o Ibn Taimiyah, Muslims Under non-Muslim Rule, ed. Yahya Michot (2006), 63100 [R]
o Roxanne L. Euben, Killing (For) Politics: Jihad, Martyrdom, and Political Action,
Political Theory, Vol. 30, No. 1. (Feb., 2002), pp. 4-35.[r]
o Munajjid et. al, Fatawa [r]
o Qaradawi et. al, Fatawa [r]
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