Revival and Reform in Islam: The Legacy of Muhammad al-Shawkani

by Bernard Haykel

Overview

This intellectual biography of Muhammad al-Shawkani, one of the founding fathers of modern Islamic reformism, is also a study of an important transitional period in Yemeni history which saw the shift from traditional Shi'ism to Sunni reformism. The transition propelled political, religious and social change. While Shawkani espoused a socio-religious order which echoed aspects of Western thinking, the book demonstrates that it was indigenous to Islamic thought. Shawkani's ideas remain vital to the intellectual debates happening in Islam today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521528900
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2003
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Bernard Haykel is Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and History in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at New York University.

Table of Contents

1. Charismatic authority: the Qasimi Imamate in the seventeenth century; 2. Becoming a dynasty: the Qasimimi Imamate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; 3. The absolute interpreter and 'Renewer' of the thirteenth century H; 4. The triumph of Sunni traditionism and the re-ordering of Yemeni society; 5. Clashing with the Zaydis: the question of cursing the Prophet's Companions (sabb al-sahaba); 6. Riots in Sanaa: the response of the strict Hadawis; 7. Shawkani's legacy.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

'Haykel's thorough analysis of Sunni Traditionism in Yemen is a model study in its comprehensive utilization of local sources and the in-depth understanding of the debates of the era of al-Shawkani and the continuing importance of the issues raised in those debates. Haykel makes a very important contribution to understanding movements of revival and reform in Islam both as they developed in the eighteenth century and as they continue to develop at the beginning of the twenty-first century.' Islamic Studies

Editorial Reviews

'Haykel's thorough analysis of Sunni Traditionism in Yemen is a model study in its comprehensive utilization of local sources and the in-depth understanding of the debates of the era of al-Shawkani and the continuing importance of the issues raised in those debates. Haykel makes a very important contribution to understanding movements of revival and reform in Islam both as they developed in the eighteenth century and as they continue to develop at the beginning of the twenty-first century.' Islamic Studies

From the Publisher