Description
Book SynopsisThis book lies at the intersection of two important and expanding fields of study: Political Islam and International Relations (IR). It contributes to both fields by analyzing the discourses of six moderate-reformist (mainstream) scholar sheikhs from the Sunni and Shii Arab World of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Four of the scholar sheikhs are Sunni Egyptians who received their education at al-Azhar and/or maintained a long-term affiliation with the institution. They are Mahmoud Shaltut (1893-1963), Muhammad Abu Zahra (1897-1974), Muhammad al-Bahi (1905-1982), and Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1926- ). The fifth is the Sunni Syrian Sheikh Wahbah al-Zuhaili (1932-2015). Finally, there is Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935-2010), a renowned Lebanese Shia cleric, who received his religious training at al-Hawza in Najaf, Iraq, the Shia equivalent of al-Azhar.
The aims of the book are three: (1) to demonstrate the presence of a moderate-reformist (mainstream) strand within political
Table of Contents
Preface – Introduction: The Moderate-Reformist (Mainstream) Strand of Political Islam – The Founding Generation: Jamal al- Din al- Afghani, Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rashid Rida – The Second Generation: Mahmoud Shaltut and Muhammad Abu Zahra – The Second Generation: Muhammad al-Bahi – The Third Generation: Yusuf al-Qaradawi – The Third Generation: Wahbah al-Zuhaili – The Third Generation: Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah – Conclusion: The Mainstream Islamists Within Their Ideational and Historical Milieus – Bibliography – Index.
