Progressive Islam and Quranic Hermeneutics

Abstract

In this chapter, I analyze the hermeneutical theories and approaches of modern Muslim reformers, paying special attention to the dialectical relationship that exists between Islamist interpretations of the twentieth century, on one hand, and more recent liberal or progressive Muslim interpretations, on the other. The chapter is divided into three sections. In the first section, I discuss an impasse in hermeneutical thinking that is a consequence of the reification of Islam in the modern period. The objectification of Islam has its origins in the modernist reform movements of the nineteenth century, which sought to develop a direct hermeneutical approach to Islam’s sacred source, unencumbered by existing traditions of law and exegesis. The approach was adopted by Islamist reformers in the twentieth century, who subverted the task of exegesis to forward the political ideology of an Islamic state. In the second section, I discuss how progressive Muslim reformers have responded to the perceived exegetical flaws of Islamism, and show how they seek to arrive at a more contextual and less essentialist understanding of religion. I will argue that, whilst progressive Muslim reformers are sensitive to exegetical questions and issues, they nonetheless work from the same hermeneutical position as Islamists by assuming that truth can be objectively ascertained, and that it is the interpreter’s job to do so.