Abstract
The alliance between Muslim and Christian scholars around the idea of a religious, political, and social reform in the Orient was sealed in 1871 around the figure of al-Afghani. In 1903, however, the alliance was subjected to a severe test. The previous chapter saw Abduh struggling with conservatives for reform of the al-Azhar University mosque. Another event took place in concomitance with this which deserves discussion because it bears witness to the limits of reformist thinking.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
We fully subscribe to this relevant thought by Hélè Béji: “Between those who, by attachment to the cultural representation of the origin, do not manage to rethink for themselves the freedom, and those who, in the name of the freedom, have Left to develop gigantic tools of control of the culture, the same part of human was sacrificed […]. Decolonization has no more succeeded in rebuilding mankind than colonialism had succeeded in destroying it.” in The Cultural Imposture, Stock, 1997, p. 86–87.
- 2.
The liberal spirit of the Qur’an, reproduction, Tunis, MED, 1999, p. 19.
- 3.
Ibid. p. 13.
- 4.
The Qur’an had been printed in Europe since the sixteenth century. The Muslims had refused to allow the circulation of the European versions because they did not conform to the daily Qur’an recitations in their surroundings. In fact, they were not totally wrong. Technical imperfections due to the printing of non-Latin characters made European editions of texts very imprecise. In addition, several publishers allowed themselves to change verses inadvertently or deliberately. It was not until Flügel’s edition in 1834 that strictly philological criteria prevailed over religious and ideological biases. It was forbidden for the Istanbul printing press, created in 1727, to print the Qur’an. The reason given was the fear of circulating imprecise versions of the Qur’an. European editions probably reinforced this fear.
- 5.
French translation, Al-Bouraq, Beirut, 1999.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Haddad, M. (2020). What Is Left of Classical Reformism?. In: Muslim Reformism - A Critical History. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36774-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36774-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36773-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36774-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)