A System of Life: Mawdudi and the Ideologisation of Islam

by Jan-Peter Hartung

Overview

While much current research on political Islam revolves around militant Islamism, the genesis of this ideology remains little understood. A System of Life is a pioneering examination of the earliest attempt at a systematic outline of Islamist ideology, namely that proposed in the 1930s and early 1940s by the renowned Indo-Muslim intellectual Sayyid Abu'l-A'la Mawdudi.

Hartung reconstructs his thought in the light of the competing ideologies at play at the time, especially his claim to recast Islam as an all-comprehensive, self-contained and inner-worldly system of life. His analysis is embedded in an understanding of the history of ideas that assumed increasingly global dimensions through colonial encounters. By showing how Mawdudi — depicted as a major protagonist of this development - attempted to align elements of Western philosophical thought with selected traditional Islamic ideas and concepts, 'Islamism' is established as an Islamic contribution to a universalistic notion of modernity.

Along with offering a detailed portrayal of Mawdudi's system of thought, Hartung also discusses the reception and modification of his ideas in the Middle East, predominantly among intellectuals of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and among their imitators in postcolonial South Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199361779
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2014
Pages:	367
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jan-Peter Hartung is Senior Lecturer in the study of Islam, with special reference to South Asia, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His numerous publications include Viele Wege und ein Ziel: Leben und Wirken von Sayyid Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali Nadwi (1914-1999) and the coedited Court Culture in the Muslim World: Seventh to Nineteenth Centuries.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

1 The Hermeneutical Problem and the Prism of Modernity 4

2 The Book 7

Some Technical Remarks 9

2 The Context 11

1 The Self-Staged Reformer: Mawdudi's Formative Years 11

1.1 Writing in Turbulent Times 16

2 The Trigger of Critique: The Caliphate Movement, 1919-1924 19

2.1 The Insulted and Humiliated 20

2.2 Evoking a Collective Symbol 26

2.3 A Covenant for Independence 32

2.4 The Disappointed and Deceived 35

3 Mapping the Ideological Landscape 38

3.1 'Scientificness'-Criterion of Truth for a Whole Epoch 39

'Science'-More than just one Intellectual Lineage among Others in the Indian Debate on Development 42

3.2 Competing Ideologies 43

a Communism 44

The Impact of the 'Communist Ideology' on Late Colonial South Asia 46

b Fascism 50

Intellectual Components of a 'Fascist Ideology' 51

The Impact of the 'Fascist Ideology' on Late Colonial South Asia 54

3 Forging a System 61

1 The Location of the System 61

1.1 History between Ignorance and Islam 62

a The Natural State-The Concept of 'jahiliyya' in Classical Times 62

b A Spectre is Haunting the Muslim World-Mawdudi's Reinterpretation of the Concept of 'jahiliyya' 64

1.2 Cyclical Renewal

a Where There is no Prophet-The Paradigm of Renewal in Islamic History 72

b The Upward Spiral-Mawdudi's Reinterpretation of the Renewal Paradigm 78

The Foundation of the System 83

2.1 The Understanding of the Qur'an 83

a Yes, We Can Do It!-Man, Rationality and Divine Revelation 86

2.2 Four Basic Qur'anic Terms 91

a God Active-God Passive 91

b You Have the Choice!-Mawdudi's Concept of 'Din' 96

3 The Core of the System 99

3.1 Absolute Sovereignty-The Reign of God 101

3.2 Relative Sovereignty-Man as God's Deputy on Earth 103

a Khilafat Allah-Khilafat Rasul Allah 105

b Caliphate versus Kingship 110

Nationalism-The Kingship of the Modern Age 113

4 The System at Work 122

4.1 The Leviathan and his Limbs 124

a Primus inter pares-The Principle of Leadership 126

b The Separation of Powers 129

4.2 An Islamic Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy 132

4.3 At the Fringes of Democracy: Cracks in the System 143

a 'And Remain in your Houses': The Place of Women 144

b 'Being Brought Low': The Place of Non-Muslims 149

4 Making a System Happen 157

1 'An Idea that has Found its Bayonets': The Concept of 'Revolution' 157

1.1 Taking Fate into One's Own Hands: The Trans-Valuation of Political Change 158

1.2 The Process of the Islamic Revolution 163

2 The Society of Enlightenment: Jama'at-i islami 173

2.1 The Good, the Better and the Best among Humankind 174

2.2 Community as Society-The Ethical State 182

2.3 Training the Cadres and Organising the Vanguard 190

5 The Reception of a System 193

1 Appropriation in Theory: Sayyid Qutb and the Muslim Brethren in Egypt 193

1.1 A Radicalised Framework 196

a Jahiliyya and Islam 200

b Hakimiyya and Ubudiyya 205

c Jihad fi sabil allah 209

1.2 After Qutb 213

a The Times are Ripe for Change: The Radical Response 214

b Trying for Readjustment: The Moderate Response 221

2 Modification in Practice: The Jama'at-i islami beyond Mawdudi 225

2.1 The Predicament of Religious Nationalism: The Jama'at-i islami of Pakistan 227

2.2 The Predicament of Secularism: The Jama'at-i islami of India 233

2.3 Khilafa at Work: The Jama'at-i islami of Bangladesh 236

2.4 Khilafa at War: The Jama'at-i islami in Kashmir and Sri Lanka 242

6 Conclusion 255

Notes 261

Bibliography 331

Index 355

Editorial Reviews

"A System of Life reinvigorates Mawdudi's place in the pantheon of twentieth century ideological figureheads and makes a convincing case for regarding him as being just as important as many of the Arab ideologues - if not more so. Hartung proves himself a master at unsettling conventional wisdoms. A must read for anyone interested in Islamic political thought and the history of modern Islamism." — Peter Mandaville, George Mason University, author of Islam & Politics

"How do communism and fascism, as also liberalism and democracy, mesh with Islamic ideals and become the basis for a new worldview that also has sociopolitical traction in the Muslim world? This is the question posed, pursued, and answered by Jan-Peter Hartung in the most comprehensive, and insightful, study of Mawdudi since Charles Adams' 1966 article: "The Ideology of Mawlana Maududi". Recommended for all who engage the range of reflection about politics, society, culture and religion in the 21st century." — Bruce B. Lawrence, Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Professor, Duke University, and author of The Qur'an: A Biography

"In this carefully crafted investigation, Hartung identifies the multiple sources at the heart of Mawdudi's reconstruction of an elaborate alternative Islamic scientific path, and its political impact on the Muslim, South Asian, and Arab worlds. The author demonstrates how Mawdudi's system was fashioned by a rereading of religious texts and a critical assessment of Western philosophers, as well as by the early twentieth century European ideologies against which he reacted. Students of Islam and of comparative political thought will find this study exceptionally valuable, not least its analysis of the cultural filters through which truth, text, meaning and context renegotiate their interrelationships." — Michael Freeden, Professor of Political Theory, University of Nottingham

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