The Revival of Islamic Rationalism: Logic, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Modern Muslim Societies

Description

In this book, Masooda Bano presents an in-depth analysis of a new movement that is transforming the way that young Muslims engage with their religion. Led by a network of Islamic scholars in the West, this movement seeks to revive the tradition of Islamic rationalism. Bano explains how, during the period of colonial rule, the exit of Muslim elites from madrasas, the Islamic scholarly establishments, resulted in a stagnation of Islamic scholarship. This trend is now being reversed. Exploring the threefold focus on logic, metaphysics, and deep mysticism, Bano shows how Islamic rationalism is consistent with Sunni orthodoxy and why it is so popular among young, elite, educated Muslims, who are now engaging with classical Islamic texts. One of the most tangible results of this revival is that Islamic rationalism - rather than jihadism - is emerging as one of the most influential movements in the contemporary Muslim world.

Masooda Bano is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of International Development and Senior Golding Fellow at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. She is the author and editor of several books, most recently Female Islamic Education Movements: The Re-democratisation of Islamic Knowledge (Cambridge, 2017) and Modern Islamic Authority and Social Change, Volume 1 and 2 (2018).