Muhammad Abduh

Makers of the Muslim World

by Mark Sedgwick

Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) is widely regarded as the founder of Islamic modernism. Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and political activist, he sought to synthesise Western and Islamic cultural values. Arguing that Islam is essentially rational and fluid, Abduh maintained that it had been stifled by the rigid structures implemented in the generations since Muhammad and his immediate followers. In this absorbing biography, Mark Sedgwick examines whether Abduh revived true Islam or instigated its corruption.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Biography, Egypt, History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Mark Sedgwick graduated with an MA from the Honour School of Modern History, University of Oxford in 1986. He gained his PhD in the Department of History at the University of Bergen in 1999. He has been a Professor in the Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark, since 2011.

Reviews

[Joel Trono-Doerksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I thought of this book. It was a good introduction to the life and thoughts of Muhammad Abduh and there's very few other books on him, the last western biography was written in 1933. I felt it could have been better if it had been written by a Muslim because the author seemed a bit uninformed about Islam. The author made it seem like Abduh was not interested in Islam at all and that he was only focused on politics, which I don't think is true. The author also made it seem like Abduh was mostly drawing on Shia Islam and that Sunni Islam was backward and stagnant, also implying that Sunni Islam was not compatible with revolution. Besides that, the book was good for anyone looking to learn about modernist Islam.

[Bob Offer-Westort · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty thorough. Very deliberately readable… Apparently, accessibility is a core value of the whole series (I hadn't realised this series even existed until I read this book), and the value is taken fairly broadly: The language usage should be accessible to most undergraduate students in the Anglophone world whose first language is not English. Readers aren't expected to know much about Egyptian history or Islam: If you know very general regional geography, the most basic version of world history, and the absolute most basic facts about Islam (a reader doesn't even need to know what ahadith are), then you're set for the book. That said, it's still a worthwhile read for someone who knows something about the region and era: It just does a little bit of explaining that might be tiresome for the more informed reader.

Sedgwick does well at placing Abduh within his intellectual context—both Islamic and European. The historical context is also very well explained: Sedgwick gets into the political intrigues of the time, and pays good attention to the relevant journalistic history. There are some major jumps, however, that are hard to understand. It's not at all clear why Abbas Hilmi Basha appointed Abduh Mufti: If Abduh rose in prominence through his seat on the Azhar Council, that's not explained in the six pages that the books apportions to his return from exile and his ascent to the most powerful role in official Egyptian Islam. Abduh's later seemingly unnecessary collisions with the khedive are equally unintelligible, tho Sedgwick's at least up front about his own perplexity concerning this period of Abduh's life.

All in all, interesting for content. No real stimulating analysis. Dry, but a quick read.

[Said Abuzeineh · Rating 4 out of 5]

بحث ممتاز حول حياة الشيخ محمد عبده وتحولاته الفكرية وأثره على الإسلام السياسي بشكل عام
وفي هذا البحث يتبنى المؤلف كون جمال الدين الأفغاني إيراني المنشا لا أفغانيه، ويلفت إلى المنحى الشيعي الواضح لتعاليم الأفغاني وأفكاره التي حملها محمد عبده من بعده

كذلك يبين الكتاب بشكل تفصيلي درامي تحولات محمد عبده الفكرية ودوافعه واضطراباته من خلال ما ذكره هو في كتبه ورسائله وما قاله عنه من عاصره من أصدقائه وما دار بينه وبينهم من رسائل

بحث شيق مهم في فهم الصورة العامة التي تشكلت منها إمامة محمد عبده للمنهج الإصلاحي جملة

[Faheem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short biography is worth reading not only because it's one of the few biographies of Muhammad Abduh, but primarily because of the subject's prime importance in Modern Islam.

Very much a complex man, and this book captures many of Abduh's ambivalent character. Another point that very much recommends it, is that it's both easy to read and - never to be lightly dismissed - mercifully short. The fact that the book does all this, even whilst carrying a genuine sense of admiration to him, even whilst giving space and making sense to Abduho's critics is indicative of the deftness of the author's writing.

Very much worth your time.