Unveiling the Dynamics of 21st Century Islamic Scholarship

By Ab Majeed Ganaie

The reviewed book is a comprehensive collection of 125 critiques covering diverse 21st-century works on various aspects of Islam, including Qur’anic Studies, the Sirah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Islamic History, Politics, Contemporary Issues, and the Contemporary Muslim World. Organized into nine sections, beginning with the Prologue and concluding with the Appendix, which features reviews of the author’s books (pp. 571-619), the work has received a commendation from Dr. Junaid S. Ahmad, Director of the Centre for Islam and Decoloniality, USA, who describes it as a “monumental accomplishment” in scholarly documentation and analysis (pp. 12-13).

The Prologue, titled “Islamic Sources and Thought and Contemporary Issues in the 21st Century” (pp. 15-18), provides an overview of the vast literature produced globally in the past two decades on Islam. Similarly, the Introduction (pp. 23-39) delves into the “Quantum of (the Western) Scholarship on ‘Islam’ in the 21st Century,” emphasizing recent publications and reasons for the surge in literature production, highlighting the necessity and significance of reviewing contemporary works (p. 32).

The first section scrutinizes English translations of the Qur’an (pp. 40-71), assessing translations by various scholars and noting the shift from non-Muslim Western dominance in translation to Muslim scholars’ prevalence in the 21st Century (p. 42). The reviews employ a detailed analysis of each translation, focusing on style, content, themes, language, and methodology. For instance, a review of the M.A.S. Abdel Haleem’s translation of the Qur’ān has been reviewed in this section. The author has provided a comprehensive analysis of the style and methodology of the said work. He says, “Abdel Haleem’s translation is in modern and plain English…and he has opted for contemporary usage and sentence structure and avoid confusing phrases” (p. 45). Consequently, one of the notable aspects of this section is that, it provides a comparative analysis of different English translations and cites examples in comparison with previously published, well-known, and authentic translations. Mostly, examples from the translations of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah from different translations reviewed in this work have been compared to one another (pp. 45-53), and a few examples have been provided from the other verses of the Qur’ānic text also.

Besides the individual translation works, a few publications have been incorporated in this volume published by the Western publication houses, edited volumes, or Encyclopedias, such as Blackwell Companion to the Qur’ān (2006) edited by Andrew Rippin (p. 84). The author highlights such works’ main features, contributions, and methodological debates. However, the central focus of this section remains on the six-volume Encyclopedia of the Qur’an (EQ) published in 2006. The author highlights the reviewed work’s strengths and weaknesses and says, “The EQ is unique, distinctive, and is first of its kind, as there was no such reference work in the field of Qur’anic Studies untill its publication (pp. 91-92).” The scholarly opinions presented in this section make this work a more valuable and lucid contribution.

Dr Parray has dedicated the second section of this work under review to the biography of the prophet Muḥammad (SAW) titled “Books on Seerah: Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Biography” (pp. 148-181). The significant contribution of the section is the comprehensive analysis of the work of Muslim authors, particularly the works of M. Yasin Mazhar Siddiqui. Dr. Parray argues that Sidiqui has brought into the limelight one of the ignored perspectives of Sirah of the Prophet Muḥammad (SAW), particularly the Makkan period and the Muslim minority vis-a-vis plural society. Dr Parray has criticized the use of some of the terms by Siddiqui, such as “Makkan Islam, Medinan Islam, and Makkan Muslims,” because he believes that it hints at a division of Muslim history, likewise classical Islam, Medieval Islam, and Modern Islam. However, he states that “the book [Prophet Muhammad—A Role Model for Muslim Minorities] has been written from a refreshing new angle and with a different perspective—the Minority perspective (p. 150)” that makes a significant contribution to the field. The review of J. V. Tolan’s Faces of Muhammad: Western Perception of the Prophet of Islam (2019) is one of important addition of this section. After giving a brief background of Tolan and his works, the author states that, Tolan presents the overall perception of the West towards the image of the prophet Muḥammad (SAW) (p. 165). The author scrutinizes Tolan’s arguments by providing a chapter-to-chapter analysis. He concludes the review by arguing that “Tolan’s work is perceptive, meticulous and unbiased critical assessment of the prophet of Islam in European and American literary works (p. 175).”

The book’s subsequent sections delve into Islamic history and civilization, theology and sufism, Islam and politics, Islam and contemporary issues, and the contemporary Muslim world, offering a comprehensive critique of literature in these domains. Each section evaluates works from both Muslim and non-Muslim Western scholars, emphasizing strengths, weaknesses, and contributions to the respective fields.

Dr. Parray’s endeavor shows a significant contribution in section VI. This section is pertaining to “Islam and Contemporary Issues.” This section reviews the works on a diverse range of contemporary issues, such as discourses on Islam and modernity, Islamic thought, Islam and Gender Issues, and Islam in the European context. Therefore, this section is rich in content that discusses contemporary scholarship and delves into the new paradigms surrounding the present challenges and perspectives. Dr. Parray’s analysis of the works reviewed in this section, highlighting the authors’ major discussions, contributions, strengths, and weaknesses. This section provides insights into modernity, reformist thinkers, dialogue and diversity, reformation and civilization renewal in Islam, women in Islam and gender issues, prophet Muḥammad (SAW), and women empowerment. Moreover, several reviews of the works discussing Islam and Europe, Muslims in Europe, human rights for migrants, Islamic radicalism, and multicultural politics are some valuable additions to this work.

Subsequently, the contemporary Muslim world is a second major contribution of the work, presenting the ideas and ideologies and social and political issues into the limelight. This section reviews the works examining the different political scenarios in Muslim countries and their democratic setup. The section personalities/personality studies delve deep into the ideologies and theories of different personalities discussed by Muslim and non-Muslim authors.

The miscellaneous section encompasses reviews on various topics, including comparative politics, Islam in South Asia, Orientalism in English literature, self-Identity in Indian Muslim English fiction, and Islamic Da‘wah. The final section features reviews of the author’s own works.

In sum, the book serves as a valuable guide for students and researchers in Islamic and religious studies, offering insights into contemporary literature, methodologies, and approaches. Dr. Parray’s scholarly acumen is evident in his meticulous analysis, critical examination, and reviews, making this compilation a noteworthy contribution to the field.

• The author is a Doctoral Candidate Department of Religious Studies, Central University of Kashmir

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