850_Ajiss21-4 - Book Reviews - Crisis of Muslim History - Religion and Politics in Early Islam]

8/8/2019 850_Ajiss21-4 - Book Reviews - Crisis of Muslim History - Religion and Politics in Early Islam]

1/4

118 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 21:4

perspective of equality is slowly replacing the complementary rightsperspective. The author informs the reader about the current discourses on

gender equality and their historical roots. He argues that, contrary to the

expectations of some of Irans archconservatives and despite the many set-backs for women under the Islamic Republic, the governments official

stance toward women was a return to 1936 (the Awakening Project) rather

than to 1883 (the reactionary misogyny of Disciplining Women).

For example, womens athleticism in the Islamic Republic (the IslamicWomens Olympics) is reminiscent of the early Pahlavi regime, in spite of

the veiling and seclusion. To further illustrate this point, Amin draws the

readers attention to Salam Iran, a website (www.salamiran.org) sponsored

by the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa. The site is an example of theextent to which Iranian women participate in the countrys public and civic

life. Another example of the current state of ideology is the Womens

Bureau of the Presidential Office, which gathers a great deal of data and sta-

tistics on women in relation to arts, sports, education, and the family. Aminargues that even such themes as Women and Revolution and Women

and the Constitution (Islamic revolution) are direct responses to the more

recent legacy of the White Revolution (Pahlavi revolution) that have theirroots in the first major legal alliance between the state and women: the

Marriage Law of 1931.

This book is an excellent source for students of Iranian history from a

gender perspective, academics, and those who wish to understand contem-porary political issues in Iran. The book is also recommended for those who

wish to learn about contemporary Iran more generally, as a great deal of

what is happening there cannot be easily understood without an under-

standing of Irans recent history.

Roksana Bahramitash

Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Crisis of Muslim History: Religion and

Politics in Early Islam

Mahmoud M. Ayoub

Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications, 2003. 179 pages.

A host of recent events well known to all and not in need of rehearsal here

have had, among a variety of other consequences, the unexpected effect of


2/4

Book Reviews 119

focusing the worlds attention on the diversity of Muslims and the Islamic tra-dition. The constant talk of Sunni triangles, Shiìte clerics, and Wahhabi

radicals, however, raises important questions about what precisely divides

the Muslim community along these lines. For Ayoub, the roots of this sectar-ianism can be found, at least in part, in the crucial historical time period

known as the Rashidite (or Rightly Guided) caliphate. It is the political

and socio-religious crisis (p. 4) of this era (stretching from the death of the

Prophet until Àlis assassination) and its implications for subsequent gener-ations, that form the subject matter of this book.

Ayoub envisions his work as filling a void found in most general intro-

ductions to Islam, which for all their other merits, often fail to provide a clear

account of this formative period of Islamic history. As for those who haveventured to write in the area, Ayoub considers the works of both Muslim and

western scholars to be fraught with the political and theological biases of

their authors. His desire to avoid this pitfall motivates him to adopt the

novel approach of letting the primary sources of Muslim thought and his-tory (p. 4) speak for themselves, a tack not unlike the one he uses in his

important contribution to tafsir studies: The Quran and Its Interpreters.

Using this methodology, Ayoub seeks to construct and present a bal-anced account of the major historical events of the Rashidite era in an effort

to explore the interaction between considerations of religion and politics in

early Islamic understandings of the nature of authority. His analysis of the

various claims to the caliphate advanced by Abu Bakr, Ùmar, Ùthman,and Ali, as well as by less successful contenders, is aimed at supporting his

central assertion that because the Prophet died without leaving a clear

political system (p. 22), the Companions did not agree indeed they vehe-

mently disagreed on answers to questions of political authority:

It must in fact be concluded that neither the companions of the Prophet nor

their successors were able to arrive at a universally acceptable solution to

the deep and persistent crisis of succession or caliphal appointment. (p. 147)

The uncertainty surrounding the nature of legitimate authority is a con-stant theme throughout Ayoubs narrative. Whereas Abu Bakrs argument

for the Muhajiruns precedence over the Ansar is based on the former

groups tribal proximity to the Prophet, it disregards the closer and moredirect kinship of Ali, the Prophets cousin. An exchange quoted later (p. 23),

however, reveals Abu Bakrs conduct to have been motivated by a fear of

sedition, a desire for stability, order, and moral integrity that reasserted itself

in his appointment of Ùmar (p. 31). This episode clearly demonstrates the


3/4

complex interplay, highlighted by Ayoub, between political expediency andmore strictly religious considerations. Similarly, Abu Bakrs egalitarian dis-

tribution of wealth (p. 28) and Ùmars principled refusal to designate his

son as successor (pp. 87-88) are noticed by the reader to be in stark contrastwith Ùthmans preferential treatment of his Umayyad kinsmen (p. 54), a

development that Ayoub considers an example of the evolving emphasis on

the power, rather than the moral persuasion, of the caliph (p. 54).

The lack of a definitive answer to questions of authority is perhaps suf-ficiently revealed simply in the range of procedures employed in choosing

the caliph: competitive discussion and consultation among the elders of

Madinah in the case of Abu Bakr, direct appointment in the case of Ùmar,

a six-man shura council that eventually chose Ùthman, the election ofÀli, as well as the latters ensuing confrontation with Muàwiyah, who saw

himself as Ùthmans heir. The controversy surrounding political authority

is portrayed as the most pressing question of the time, and is played out in

history through the Muslim states transformation from a theocracy duringthe Prophets lifetime to a tribal meritocracy, then into a cosmopolitan

nomocratic kingship, and finally into many and often disparate modern

nation states (p. 30).Ayoubs work is undoubtedly a thorough investigation into early

Islamic history. In that, he fulfills his goal of contributing a clear and

somewhat comprehensive presentation of the formative period (p. 4). Yet,

at times, the reader feels as though he may have fallen short of another ofhis stated purposes: to produce an introductory work (p. 4). While his deci-

sion to offer various versions of the same event has significant scholarly

value, it is perhaps overwhelming for the novice. To compound matters, a

handful of passages seem to assume that the readers are already acquaintedwith the history to which they are supposedly being introduced. Consider,

for example, the vague allusion to the necklace incident (p. 89) that, we

are told, sparked Àishas animosity toward Àli. Furthermore, Ayoubs

methodological decision to present a wide array of primary sources occa-

sionally creates tensions within his own narrative. While Ùmar is praisedas a far-sighted man (p. 41), he is (only three pages later) not astute enough

to have completely perceived the far-reaching religious, political, social,and economic consequences of his selections for the shura council, sup-

posedly weight[ing] the outcome in favor of Ùthman despite being

personally inclined toward Àli (p. 43-44). Finally, several noticeable typo-

graphical errors (e.g., spelling mistakes and errant diacritical marks) detractfrom the overall quality of the book.

120 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 21:4


4/4

Despite these objections, however, Ayoubs work remains an importantcontribution, not least for its ability to introduce English readers to classi-

cal sources of Islamic history in an accessible way. It portrays well the very

real and human nature of the early Muslim community, the urgent politicalquestions and crises facing this identifiably religious society, and how they

were resolved. The need to examine these responses in light of todays real-

ities can hardly be overstated.

Junaid Quadri

MA student, Department of PhilosophyUniversity of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Short Arabic Plays: An Anthology

Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed.Northampton, MA: Interlink Books, 2003. 466 pages

Like most of the other anthologies edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ShortArabic Plays is a collection of translated Arabic literary works focused

around one particular genre. This anthology, part of Jayyusis Project for

the Translation of Arabic (PROTA), will bring attention to a dynamic, but

understudied, genre of Arabic literature. This diverse collection consists of20 short plays by 15 playwrights, demonstrating the breadth of the genre

and its interest not only to scholars and specialists, but also to those con-

cerned with literature more generally.

One problem with this particular anthology, however, is that Jayyusisseven-page editors introduction barely manages to explain the impetus

behind the project, make her acknowledgments and outline the major

themes in short plays in general let alone contextualize the plays included

in this volume. Although it includes short biographies of the editor, contrib-utors, and translators (after a brief glossary of Arabic words), there are no

introductions to the individual works or even such bibliographic indications

as their original titles and dates of publication. In contrast, other anthologiesby Jayyusi for example,Modern Arabic Poetry: An Anthology (Columbia

University Press: 1987) and Anthology of Modern Palestinian Literature

(Columbia University Press: 1992) are accompanied by useful and lengthy

introductions written by Jayyusi herself, as well as brief introductions toeach individual contribution.

Likewise, the anthology most closely related to this one, Modern

Arabic Drama: An Anthology, coedited with Roger Allen (Indiana

Book Reviews 121

Documents

850_Ajiss21-4 - Book Reviews - Crisis of Muslim History - Religion and Politics in Early Islam]