Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and International Law

by Abd Allah Ahmad Naim

Toward an Islamic Reformation is an ambitious attempt to modernize Islamic law, calling for reform of the historical formulations of Islamic law, commonly known as Shari'a that is perceived by many Muslims to be part of the Islamic faith. As a Muslim, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im is sensitive to and appreciative of the delicate relationship between Islam as a religion and Islamic law. Nevertheless, he considers that the questions raised here must be resolved if the public law of Islam is to be implemented today. An-Na'im draws upon the teachings and writings of Sudanese reformer Mahmoud Mohamed Taha to provide what some have called the intellectual foundations for a total reinterpretation of the nature and meaning of Islamic public law.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction

253 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1990

Reviews

[Exavidreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author proposed a methodology on how we can re-look the way we apply Shari'a to our lives. Although his writing is simple enough to understand, it is still not recommended for those who do not have a good understanding and background of Shari'a, especially its laws and its historical development. Without such a background, one will not be able to critically evaluate his ideas. What is great about this book (for those who can understand it), is that the author brings in perspectives from contemporary human rights and international law because he is well-versed in these as well as Shari'a law. Even if one may not agree with everything the author proposes, it is a good book to make Muslims think critically about the current situation we are in and help us move towards positive, practical reforms.

[trickgnosis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An-Naim often seems like a lone voice in the wilderness these days, but he's a powerful voice and he can't be easily dismissed by Islamic conservatives and fundamentalists. He knows his stuff and he's earned his cred the hard way, but boy is he fighting an uphill battle. Hopefully he's paving the way for those who come after him.

[Sara Razek · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in a long time! An-Na'im's arguments are unique and groundbreaking as he asserts that shari'a isn't divine Islamic law (which obviously means that it could be upended), placing it in its historical context as the ijtihad of Muslim scholars during the eighth and ninth centuries of the Muslim calendar. Also, An-Na'im's proposal for the formulation of public Islamic law for Muslim societies today based on a new interpretation of the Koran and Sunnah provides an-out-of-the-box alternative for predominately Muslim countries which have been made to believe that the way forward is either through the implementation of secularism or fundamentalist Islamist ideology.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Argues that Shari'a public law as it stands is incompatible with modern realities, but that it is Islamically legitimate (and consistent with the genesis of Shari'a itself) to construct a new version of Islamic public law based on a fresh interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunna in the light of those realities. What divides him from those who think Shari'a itself can be reformed seems to be largely a question of semantics.

[Widhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all good and liberating and encouraging.. but if you close the book and look out side into the " real life" in the islamic world, i felt that we ain't going nowhere.

But nonetheless, this book does give me hope and believe to keep believing.