New Books in Islamic Studies

Ahmed El ShamsyView on AmazonIn his brilliant new book, The Canonization of Islamic Law: A Social and Intellectual History (Cambridge UP, 2013), Ahmed El Shamsy, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago, explores the question of how the discursive tradition of Islamic law was canonized during the eighth and ninth centuries CE. While focusing on the religious thought of the towering Muslim jurist Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 820) and the intellectual and social milieu in which he wrote, El Shamsy presents a fascinating narrative of the transformation of the Muslim legal tradition in early Islam. He convincingly argues that through al-Shafi'i's intervention, a previously mimetic model of Islamic law inseparable from communal practice made way for a more systematic hermeneutical enterprise enshrined in a clearly defined scriptural canon. Through a rich and multilayered analysis, El Shamsy shiningly demonstrates how and why this process of canonization came about. Written in a remarkably lucid fashion, this groundbreaking study will delight and benefit specialists and non-specialists alike. In our conversation, we talked about the shift from oral to written culture in early Islam, the contrast between the normative projects of Malik and al-Shafi'i, al-Shafi'i's theory of language, the social and political reasons for the success of his legal theory, and the transmission of al-Shafi'i's thought by his students.

Carla BellamyView on AmazonIn The Powerful Ephemeral: Everyday Healing in an Ambiguously Islamic Place (University of California Press, 2011), Carla Bellamy explores the role of saint shrines in India, while focusing on a particular venue known as Husain Tekri, or "Husain Hill." Through her in-depth ethnographic research, Bellamy's monograph provides vivid description and analysis of the site as well as first-person narratives of pilgrims in order to offer a dynamic portrayal of the shrine complex. Bellamy shows how lines between religious communities are often fluid rather than fixed. She also problematizes notions of so-called spirit possession, interrogates the metaphysical power of frankincense, and articulates myriad perspectives of what healing might mean for those who visit Husain Tekri and participate in its rituals. Bellamy's rich ethnography should appeal to numerous audiences, including those interested in South Asia, shrine culture, Islam, Indian religion, and Sufism.

Rumee AhmedView on Amazon[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] How should one understand Islamic law outside of its application? What happens when we think about religious jurisprudence theoretically? For medieval Muslim scholars this was the field where one could enumerate the meaning and purpose of Islamic law. But to the uninitiated these justifications for legal thinking are submerged in rote repetition of technical language and discourses. Luckily for us, Rumee Ahmed, professor in the Department of Classics, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, dives into the depths of various legal theory manuals to draw narrative understandings of shari'a to the surface. In Narratives of Islamic Legal Theory (Oxford University Press, 2012), Ahmed examines two formative contemporaneous jurists from the Hanafi school of law to determine the relationship between law and ethics through legal discourses. He focuses on the nature and meaning of the Qur'an, the role of the sunnah (the Prophetic example), and the use of considered opinion in structuring legal boundaries. Ultimately, he views their positions not merely as academic debates over the minutia of religious opinions and injunctions but as ritual observance, which formulates a world 'as if' it were ideal. In our conversation we discuss abrogation, punishment, salvation, Abraham's sacrifice, hadith transmission, Peircean notions of abduction, religious law, stoning, adultery, the role of scholars, and contemporary calls for reform.

Agostino CilardoView on AmazonAl-Qāḍī al-Nu῾mān (d. 363/974) was the primary architect of Ismā῾īlī jurisprudence which was formed under the Fatamids. The Early History of Ismaili Jurisprudence (I. B. Tauris, 2013) provides an English translation and edited Arabic edition of a work held to be written by al-Nu῾mān, the Minhāj al-farā'iḍ, a brief tract on inheritance law. However, author Agostino Cilardo, Professor at the 'Orientale' of Università degli Studi di Napoli (Naples), offers his readers much more in this book. The first half of this work explores critical questions concerning the development of Ismā῾īlī jurisprudence which includes synopses of the theories concerning the progression and originality of Ismā῾īlī jurisprudence. This is followed by an analysis of the Minhāj alongside four other works penned by al-Nu῾mān: Kitāb al-iqtiṣār, Kitāb al-yanbū῾, Mukhtaṣar al-āthār, and Da῾ā'im al-Islām. This study allows Professor Cilardo to draw a number of conclusions about the work itself, the maturation of Ismā῾īlī jurisprudence, and how Ismā῾īlī law (fiqh) compares to other Shī῾ī and the Sunni legal traditions, in terms of legal inheritance. The book is well written and meticulous in its organization. Scholars and students of Islam will find this work invaluable, and it is a good tool for those interested in both jurisprudence and Ismā῾īlī studies.

Teena PurohitView on AmazonHow does colonial power, both discursive and institutional, transform the normative boundaries and horizons of religious identities? Teena Purohit, Assistant Professor of Religion at Boston University, examines this question in The Aga Khan Case: Religion and Identity in Colonial India (Harvard University Press, 2012). This book is clearly written and carefully researched straddling multiples fields and disciplinary approaches. The crux of the study is the transformation of Khoja Isma'ili identity in colonial India. The title refers to a case in 1866 lodged by the Khojas of Bombay against the then Aga Khan over the ownership and control of their property. However, this ostensible property dispute spiraled into a much larger debate over religion and religious identity. Through a dazzling analysis of novel historical and textual archives, Professor Purohit demonstrates that the Aga Khan case of 1866 indelibly transformed the nature and boundaries of Isma'ili religious identity in South Asia, often in ways that remain highly relevant even today. In our conversation, we discussed the major themes and arguments of the book. We also talked about the broader theoretical and conceptual interventions of this book in the fields of Religion, Islamic Studies, and South Asian Studies.

Mohammed RustomView on AmazonWhat is the relationship between philosophy, mysticism, and scripture in the Islamic tradition? Mohammed Rustom, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University, has been thinking about this question for years. His intellectual curiosity is thoroughly explored in his book The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra (SUNY Press, 2012). Rustom introduces us to Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Shirazi (d. 1640), better known as Mulla Sadra, and his theory of scriptural hermeneutics developed most explicitly in his book, The Keys to the Unseen (Mafatih al-ghayb). Through his reading of Mulla Sadra Rustom was trying to gather what kind of interpretive framework constituted a philosophical approach to the Qur'an. In The Triumph of Mercy, the Tafsir Surat al-Fatiha, a commentary on the opening chapter of the Qur'an, is used as a touchstone for exploring Mulla Sadra's metaphysics, cosmology, theology, and soteriology. Through this study we see how Mulla Sadra was indebted to earlier figures in the Islamic intellectual tradition, such as Suhrawardi (1154-91) and Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240). In my conversation with Rustom we discuss Islamic philosophy, the tafsir tradition, practical hermeneutics, God's Essence and Attributes, the Muhammadan Reality, notions of existence or being, the significance of praise, and ideas about salvation, punishment, and hell. Our conversation also demonstrates how contemporary intellectual traditions are built through Rustom's clear admiration for his mentors, such as Todd Lawson, William Chittick, and Michael Marmura.

Sarra TliliView on AmazonIn her book Animals in the Qur'an (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Sarra Tlili carefully addresses a complex issue. What does the Qur'an say about non-human animals? And their relationship to humans? Tlili begins her study by discussing conceptions of animals in various religions, in addition to Islam, and not just "Abrahamic" traditions. The remainder of the book focuses on the Qur'an, its presentation of animals, and a range of exegetical literature that treats the topic of animals in the Islamic holy text. Tlili also ventures into Arabic literature more broadly. She adroitly demonstrates that classical Muslim scholars did not understand non-human animals as existentially inferior, and notes societal shifts in the modern world with reference to anthropocentrism and privileging human existence. Tlili also provides a comprehensive appendix that lists a host of qur'anic names for animals, demonstrating the significance of her topic as well as the lexical challenge that scholars face. Sarra Tlili's articulate prose reads smoothly, moreover, and gives the reader an incentive to explore this fascinating text. The monograph should interest specialists and non-specialists alike as it provides an accessible window into the rich world of Animals in the Qur'an.

Heidi CampbellView on Amazon[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] What does religion have to do with technology? Many people think that religious practitioners are inherently opposed to new technological developments. The reality of the situation is that religious communities have a very complex relationship with technology. Heidi Campbell, professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University, examines the intersection religion and technology in When Religion Meets New Media (Routledge, 2010). Her main query is what responses do Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities have to new forms of media. Campbell pinpoints the various structural components of religious communities' engagement with technologies through a number of case studies, including the Amr Khaled phenomenon, the Gulen Movement, Shabbat in an Orthodox Jewish home, the "Pause, its prayer time" ad campaign, the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life, Islamic apps, and the kosher cellphone, among several others. In When Religion Meets New Media, she offers a comprehensive theoretical model for investigating religion in the digital world, the "Religious-social shaping" approach, which frames a study in a religious community's core beliefs and patterns, history and tradition, negotiation process, and communal discursive framing. As one of the leading scholars in the area of religion, media, and digital culture, Campbell is well-suited for the task. In our conversation we discuss the history of religion online, religious authority, communal interactions with traditional texts, the media as a conduit, mode of knowing, and social institution, and the future of the study of digital religion. Campbell also gives us a sense of where the field is moving and topics that are gaining purchase among scholars. Her efforts with the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies are helping scholars across disciplines connect for collaborative research. We also briefly discussed one of the products of this network, Campbell's edited collection Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds (Routledge, 2013). The chapters of this volume include theoretical and methodological introductions to themes in the study of digital religion (Ritual, Identity, Community, Authority, Authenticity, and Religion) with two corresponding case studies.

Paul O’ConnorView on AmazonWhat does the everyday experience of Muslim minorities look like? We have often heard about what Muslims deal with in the West. But what about Muslim minorities in the East? This was one of the questions Paul O'Connor, professor in the Anthropology department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, explores in the cosmopolitan city of Hong Kong. In Islam in Hong Kong: Muslims and Everyday Life in China's World City (Hong Kong University Press, 2012), O'Connor provides an ethnography of everyday life for the various Muslim communities in this modern city. He outlines institutions and organizations in the religious landscape of permanent Muslim minority communities. He explores the meaning of various spaces in the urban environment, such as home, school, mosque, and public spaces like malls or the Chungking Mansions. He also examines the dynamics of food and language in shaping everyday practices and relationships. In our conversation we discuss changes occurring after the end of colonial power, multilingual opportunities, halal food, religious and secular education, racism, Indonesian foreign domestic workers, Muslim youth use of urban public and online spaces, Muslim minority experiences in East and West, and everyday hybridity.

Nancy KhalekView on AmazonA top five finalist for the Best First Book in the History of Religion Award, Damascus after the Muslim Conquest (Oxford University Press, 2011) by Nancy Khalek, professor of Religious Studies at Brown University, is a study of the city of Damascus, the seat of power for the Umayyad dynasty.  More specifically, this book explores the interaction between the recently arrived Muslim Arab rulers and the Byzantine-Christian peoples who made up the majority of the population in Syria. Khalek employs both traditional historical texts, such as Ibn 'Asākir's Tārīkh Dimashq, along with art and architecture from the region. She displays a mastery of both the Muslim and Christian sources, discerning the value of their historicity but highlighting the narrative and iconographic significance that can be extrapolate from those sources. During her study of the stories and art, the narratives and iconography reveal that the Muslim and Christian cultures of Syria were in a type of dialogue with each other. She takes care to avoid stating this was a replacement one culture or one borrowing from anther, but instead wishes to portray a blending of these cultures; a blending whose legacy lived on for centuries. Khalek's work is truly a significant contribution to the field of Islamic Studies and an indispensable interdisciplinary study for both its use of a variety of lesser known source material and its re-imagining of Umayyad history in Syria.

Michael LaffanView on AmazonIndonesia is often highlighted as having the right kind of Islam, 'moderate' and 'peaceful.' Whether that remains true (if it ever was a reality) will be tested in the future but what about the past? How did we end up with this picture of Islam in Indonesia? Michael Laffan, Professor of History at Princeton University, explores this question in his new book, The Makings of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past (Princeton University Press, 2011). From a plethora of sources Laffan has reconstructed the history of interactions and the formation of discourses about Islam in Southeast Asia. The narrative includes the exchanges between Dutch (and British) authorities, missionaries, and Muslims, in both local and global perspectives. Much of the debates was about the process of Islamization and how it was remembered. Muslim accounts regularly stressed the role of Sufi brotherhoods in situating Islam in the local context but other evidence puts this into question. Islamic texts played a major role though for both Muslim participants and the foreign parties. Laffan brings a Dutch orientalist, Snouk Hurgronje, to life in order to demonstrate the dynamic relationship between all the players involved. In our conversation we discussed Islamization, the role of print technologies, Islamic education, elite and public religious participation, orientalist scholarship, textual archives, colonial power, and Sufism.

R. Kevin JaquesView on AmazonRobert Kevin Jaques' work, Ibn Hajar: Makers of Islamic Civilization (I. B. Tauris, 2013), focuses on the life of one of the most eminent Muslim scholars, Ibn Ḥajar al-'Asqalānī (d. 852/1449). Jaques provides his readers with a concise yet intimate biography of this great scholar based on the accounts of his students, chiefly the al-Jawāhir of al-Sakhāwī, and works penned by Ibn Ḥajar himself. Beginning life as an orphan, Ibn Ḥajar rose to the most prominent academic position as the chief Shāfi‛ī judge of the Egyptian Mamlūk system. His accomplishment made all the more remarkable as he had to contest with countless political machinations and personal tragedies including the death of many of his children. While many of Ibn Ḥajar's contemporary's rose and fell due to their inability to successfully navigate the ever changing political landscape, Jaques ascribes Ibn Ḥajar's longevity and lasting legacy to his enchanting personality, religious devotion, and inimitable acumen; qualities often ignored or downplayed by social historians studying the political intrigues of Mamlūk society. Jaques discusses the significance of Ibn Ḥajar's historical and biographical texts, such as the Inbā' al-ghumr bi-anbā' al-'umr and al-Durar al-kāmina, but he devotes much time to Ibn Ḥajar's massive commentary on al-Bukhārī's Ṣāḥīḥ, Fatḥ al-bārī. The study of ḥadīth became Ibn Ḥajar's way to combat personal losses and the constant threat of plague; phenomena which he believed were not occasions of Divine retribution for the transgressions of the community. Excellent in its composition and structure, Makers of Islamic Civilization: Ibn Ḥajar is a book which will benefit both the novice and expert in the study of Islam.

Mohammad KhalilView on AmazonIn his book Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question (Oxford University Press, 2012), Mohammad Hassan Khalil masterfully approaches a difficult topic. What happens to non-Muslims when they die? Who is accountable for accepting Muhammad's prophethood? Could any sane person possibly reject the truth were it clearly revealed to her? In order to address these questions and others, Khalil's probes some of the most prominent premodern and modern voices in Islamic history. The author unearths not a monolithic consensus but instead a cacophony of opinions concerning soteriological matters, which overwhelmingly envisions a heaven filled with Muslims and non-Muslims. As an added bonus to Khalil's robust and provocative study, his adroit prose reads smoothly and his storytelling is exquisite. That combined with meticulous attention to transliteration and precise, fluid translations, makes Khalil's monograph an absolute pleasure to read and should appeal to specialists and non-specialists.

Juliane HammerView on AmazonIn 2005, Amina Wadud led a mixed-gender congregation of Muslims in prayer. This event became the focal point of substantial media attention and highlighted some of the tensions within the Muslim community. However, this prayer gathering was the culmination of a series of events and embodied several ongoing intra-Muslim debates. In American Muslim Women, Religious Authority, and Activism: More Than a Prayer (University of Texas Press, 2012), Juliane Hammer, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, outlines the circumstances leading up to the prayer event and employs it as point of convergence to explore the multiple discourses surrounding Muslim gender issues. The debates following the prayer fell into two discursive frameworks, legal and symbolic. Hammer explores these themes through a broader body of sources written by American Muslim women both in relation to exegetical projects or legalistic frameworks leading towards gender equality or human rights. While gender remains central to the arguments of the book Hammer uses this subject to examine various issues related to contemporary Islam, including participation, leadership, law, media, and self-representation. In our conversation, we discuss the disintegration of traditional modes of authority, "progressive" Muslims, embodied tafsir, feminism, the permissibility and validity of women lead prayer, the hijab, book covers, mosques, networks, Asra Nomani, and Amina Wadud, but are only able to scratch the surface of this wonderful book.

Sherine HamdyView on Amazon[Cross-posted from New Books in Science, Technology, and Society] One of the best things about co-hosting New Books in STS is the opportunity to discover books like this one. Sherine Hamdy has given us something special in Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt (University of California Press, 2012). Framed as a study of the history and ethnography of organ transplantation in modern Egypt, Hamdy's work uses a wide range of sources to encourage readers to think in a much more nuanced way about categories that we tend to generalize: bodies, family, religion, Islam, the idea of a "black market." The story ranges from printed texts and interviews, to television programs, participant observation in classes on Islamic jurisprudence, and fieldwork in hospitals, private clinics, and other medical institutions. At every stage, Hamdy offers accounts (often quite moving) of individuals who are in the process of weighing the risks and benefits of transplantation, reminding us that none of these individuals exists outside of a complex web of social, political, familial, and other relationships. It is an inspiring book that ought to be read and assigned widely.