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Controversies over Islamic Origins: An Introduction to Traditionalism and Revisionism
What evidence do we have to reconstruct the origins of Islam? On the basis of what sources can the first century of Islam be accessed? Why do historians of early Islam consider the literary sources of Islamic origins to be so problematic? How is the problem of early Islamic history framed? This book addresses these critical questions by discussing various approaches to the problem of reconstructing Islamic origins. In a spirit of welcoming diverse perspectives and encouraging healthy scholarly debate, it explores different, even conflicting modern theories about the emergence of Islam through various case studies, including recent debates on the Quran, the biography of the Prophet, and early conquest narratives. A broad spectrum of both traditionalist and revisionist scholarship is critically examined with the purpose of illuminating not only how modern scholars differ, but also what they have in common.
344 pages, Hardcover
Published June 30, 2021
33 people want to read
About the author
Mun'im Sirry
17 books17 followersAssistant Professor of Theology; Researcher, Contending Modernities
Mun’im Sirry earned a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School (2012). His academic interests include political theology, modern Islamic thought, Qur’anic studies, interreligious relations, and Southeast Asian religions and cultures.
Sirry's most recent book, Scriptural Polemics: The Qur’an and Other Religions (Oxford University Press, 2014) examines difficult passages in the Qur’an that have usually been viewed as obstacles to peaceful co-existence among different religious communities.
Currently, along with the Contending Modernities team, Sirry is developing a Contending Modernities working group on Indonesia focusing on authority, community and identity. The working group will explore and analyze the complex relationships between the various contending authorities, communities and identities that have shaped and been shaped by religious life at both the societal and state levels. The Indonesian working group will be comprised of leading scholars in various fields exploring the conditions for the possibility of pluralist co-existence among diverse ethnic and religious communities in Indonesia through a wide range of engagement with religious and secular forces.
Sirry’s publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Arabica, al-Bayan, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Interpretation, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Journal of Semitic Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, The Muslim World, Studia Islamica, and Die Welt des Islams.
Mun’im Sirry earned a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School (2012). His academic interests include political theology, modern Islamic thought, Qur’anic studies, interreligious relations, and Southeast Asian religions and cultures.
Sirry's most recent book, Scriptural Polemics: The Qur’an and Other Religions (Oxford University Press, 2014) examines difficult passages in the Qur’an that have usually been viewed as obstacles to peaceful co-existence among different religious communities.
Currently, along with the Contending Modernities team, Sirry is developing a Contending Modernities working group on Indonesia focusing on authority, community and identity. The working group will explore and analyze the complex relationships between the various contending authorities, communities and identities that have shaped and been shaped by religious life at both the societal and state levels. The Indonesian working group will be comprised of leading scholars in various fields exploring the conditions for the possibility of pluralist co-existence among diverse ethnic and religious communities in Indonesia through a wide range of engagement with religious and secular forces.
Sirry’s publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Arabica, al-Bayan, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Interpretation, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Journal of Semitic Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, The Muslim World, Studia Islamica, and Die Welt des Islams.
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February 14, 2022
An amazing introduction to the subfield of Islamic origins, the author manages to analyze the various strands of scholarship (which he categorizes as either “traditionalist” or “revisionist”) and their respective contributions which make up the bulk of this area of research.
Written in a language that is accessible to the lay reader, Sirry explains concisely the different areas of interest that academics focus on in regards to Islamic origins, namely the emergence of Islam itself, the Qur’ān, the Prophetic biography and the conquest narratives, each of which is treated in a separate chapter.
He goes on to evaluate the arguments proposed by different scholars on any of these topics and highlights each of their strengths and weaknesses, but avoids giving a definite conclusion, fully knowing that such an occurrence is unlikely to happen in the near future. To that effect he writes on the issue of the rapid success of the conquests and its supposed elusiveness to historians : “The different theories offered by the above scholars reflect precisely this human endeavor to explain a human phenomenon, albeit from a variety of perspectives. As a legal dictum says: Divergence of opinion is blessing.” (p. 276)
Despite that, the author does see reason for optimism in the study of Islamic origins. For in as much as the Muslim sources might be seen as of late provenance and tainted by ideological tendentiousness, the recent boom of scholarship that has characterized Islamic Studies thus far has allowed for a multitude of perspectives to engage with one another and provide for fruitful dialogue between “traditionalists” and “revisionists” (which the author continuously points out that they share more in common with each other than has been previously assumed). To conclude with the author’s own words: “It is in the spirit of “humane scholarship” that scholars traditionalist and revisionist – can celebrate the diversity of perspectives and (using the Qur’anic phrase) “compete with one another in good works” (fastabiqū-l-khayrāt, Q 5:48).” (p. 286)
Written in a language that is accessible to the lay reader, Sirry explains concisely the different areas of interest that academics focus on in regards to Islamic origins, namely the emergence of Islam itself, the Qur’ān, the Prophetic biography and the conquest narratives, each of which is treated in a separate chapter.
He goes on to evaluate the arguments proposed by different scholars on any of these topics and highlights each of their strengths and weaknesses, but avoids giving a definite conclusion, fully knowing that such an occurrence is unlikely to happen in the near future. To that effect he writes on the issue of the rapid success of the conquests and its supposed elusiveness to historians : “The different theories offered by the above scholars reflect precisely this human endeavor to explain a human phenomenon, albeit from a variety of perspectives. As a legal dictum says: Divergence of opinion is blessing.” (p. 276)
Despite that, the author does see reason for optimism in the study of Islamic origins. For in as much as the Muslim sources might be seen as of late provenance and tainted by ideological tendentiousness, the recent boom of scholarship that has characterized Islamic Studies thus far has allowed for a multitude of perspectives to engage with one another and provide for fruitful dialogue between “traditionalists” and “revisionists” (which the author continuously points out that they share more in common with each other than has been previously assumed). To conclude with the author’s own words: “It is in the spirit of “humane scholarship” that scholars traditionalist and revisionist – can celebrate the diversity of perspectives and (using the Qur’anic phrase) “compete with one another in good works” (fastabiqū-l-khayrāt, Q 5:48).” (p. 286)
Displaying 1 of 1 review