Muḥammad ʿAbduh and His Interlocutors: Conceptualizing Religion in a Globalizing World

298 Pages·2019·1.27 MB·English

by  Ammeke Kateman

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_book_language: en
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_dedication_title: Dedication
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i
Muḥammad ʿAbduh and His Interlocutors: Conceptualizing Religion in a
Globalizing World
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden,
ii
Numen Book Series
Studies in the History of Religions
Series Editors
Steven Engler (Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada)
Richard King (University of Kent, UK)
Kocku von Stuckrad (University of Groningen, The Netherlands)
Gerard Wiegers (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
VOLUME 162
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/nus
iii
Muḥammad ʿAbduh
and His Interlocutors
Conceptualizing Religion in a Globalizing World
By
Ammeke Kateman
LEIDEN | BOSTON
iv
Cover illustration: “Portrait of sheykh Mohammed Abdu taken of him on the Terrace of the House of
Commons during his visit to The Author [i.e. Wilfrid Blunt] in England as an Exile, 22nd July, 1884.
Photograph by Russell, reproduction by Emery Walker,” in Wilfrid Blunt, Secret History of the English
Occupation of Egypt: Being a Personal Narrative of Events (London: Fischer Unwin, 1907), frontispiece. The
story behind the photograph is recounted in: Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Gordon at Khartoum: Being a
Personal Narrative of Events, in Continuation of “A Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt.”
(London: Stephen Swift, 1911), 272. See also note 8 of the introduction.
This research project received generous funding by the Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic
Studies (NISIS).
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/
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issn 0169-8834
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ContentCsontents v
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Notes on Translation and Transliteration ix x
Introduction 1
Part 1
Questions and Concepts
1 Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s World 9
1 Global Intellectual Convergence 12
2 A Contested Historiography 17
3 Studying ʿAbduh in Context in a Time of Globalization 33
4 Studying Two Texts in Context on the Concept of ‘Religion’ 41
5 A Note on Sources 44
2 Conceptualizing ‘Religion’ 46
1 Studying Comparisons 54
2 Comparing Comparisons 56
3 Outline of This Study 65
Part 2
Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Risālat al-Tawḥīd in context
3 Risālat al-Tawḥīd in Its Context of Conception: Beirut in the 1880s 69
1 Risālat al-Tawḥīd As it Came to Be Published 70
2 The Context of Conception: ʿAbduh in Beirut in the 1880s 74
4 Comparing Religions in Risālat al-Tawḥīd in the Context of Its
Conception 97
1 How to Uphold Morality? 97
2 How Do Religions Relate to ‘Reason’ (al-ʿAql)? 116
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Note on Translation and Transliteration ix
Introduction 1
Part 1
Questions and Concepts
Chapter 1 vi Contents
Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s World 9
1 Global Intellectual Convergence 12
2 A Contested Historiography 17
3 Studying ʿAbduh in Context in a Time of Globalization 33 5 Comparisons Compared: Reflecting and Producing a Concept of
4 Studying Two Texts in Context on the Concept of ‘Religion’ 41 ‘Religion’ 127
5 A Note on Sources 44
Chapter 2 1 ‘Religion’ (al-Dīn) and ‘the Religions’ (al-Adyān) 129
Conceptualizing ‘Religion’ 46
1 “Universality and Globalization” 46 2 Reinterpreting Islam as a Religion 142
2 Studying Comparisons 54
3 Comparing Comparisons 56
4 Outline of This Study 65
Part 2
Part 3
Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Risālat al-Tawḥīd in context
Chapter 3
Risālat al-Tawḥīd in Its Context of Conception: Beirut in the 1880s 69 Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Reply to Hanotaux in Context
1 Risālat al-Tawḥīd As it Came to Be Published 70
2 The Context of Conception: ʿAbduh in Beirut in the 1880s 74
Chapter 4
6 Hanotaux and ʿAbduh: A Layered Context of Discussion 163
Comparing Religions in Risālat al-Tawḥīd in the Context of Its Conception 97
1 How to Uphold Morality? 97 1 Editions and Sources 164
2 How Do Religions Relate to ‘Reason’ (al-ʿaql)? 116
Chapter 5 2 Hanotaux and ʿAbduh: A Global Discussion Branching Out
Comparisons Compared: Reflecting and Producing a Concept of ‘Religion’ 127
1 ‘Religion’ (al-Dīn) and ‘the Religions’ (al-Adyān) 129 Locally 167
2 Reinterpreting Islam as a Religion 142 3 An Interplay of Global and Local Contexts 173
Part 3
Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Reply to Hanotaux in Context
Chapter 6
Hanotaux and ʿAbduh: A Layered Context of Discussion 163 7 Comparing Islam and Christianity in Reply to Hanotaux 186
1 Editions and Sources 164
1 God, Man, and Action 186
2 Hanotaux and ʿAbduh: A Global Discussion Branching Out Locally 167
3 An Interplay of Global and Local Contexts 173 2 “Leur patrie, à eux, c’est l’islam” 203
Chapter 7
Comparing Islam and Christianity in Reply to Hanotaux 186
1 God, Man, and Action 186
8 Comparisons Compared: A Play of Similarity and Difference  217
2 “Leur patrie, à eux, c’est l’islam” 203
Chapter 8 1 ‘Religion’ (al-Dīn) and ‘the Religions’ (al-Adyān) 217
Comparisons Compared: A Play of Similarity and Difference  217
1 ‘Religion’ (al-Dīn) and ‘the Religions’ (al-Adyān) 217 2 Reconfiguring Islam as a Religion 227
2 Reconfiguring Islam as a Religion 227
In Conclusion 239
1 A World beyond Westernization 239 In Conclusion 239
2 The Concept of Religion in a Globalizing World 248
3 And Further 253 1 A World beyond Westernization 239
Sources and Literature 259
2 The Concept of Religion in a Globalizing World 248
Index 284
3 And Further 253
Sources and Literature 259
Index 284
AcknowAlcedkgnmoewnltesdgments vii
Acknowledgments
Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s texts bear the traces of a variety of contemporaries with
whom he was in contact; his texts were shaped through the discussions and
interactions he had with many others. Largely because of this feature, his texts
have kept me fascinated throughout my research – and they still do. Here, I
gladly acknowledge those who made an imprint upon my own text and in con-
versation with whom this text was made and remade – even though my map-
ping of my intellectual and personal context will be inevitably incomplete.
First, I thank Gerard Wiegers and Richard van Leeuwen for guiding the read-
ing, thinking and writing that led to the dissertation that stood at the basis for
this book. You asked many thoughtful questions, but refrained from imposing
answers; thank you for your kindness and for putting an unfailing trust in me.
Many others have been of great support to my research and myself. I am
particularly grateful to the Netherlands Inter-university School for Islamic
Studies. I thank NISIS not only for generously funding this research project,
but I also thank the members of the NISIS board and its bureau in particular
(Léon Buskens, Petra de Bruijn, Annemarie, Farah, Femke and many others)
for creating a wonderful environment for a young generation of scholars of Is-
lam in the Netherlands to flourish.
I benefited from the conversations I had with numerous others. I am grate-
ful for the academic counsel and practical support I received, in person or
through e-mail, great or small, from père Georges Berbary, Maaike van Berkel,
Marilyn Booth, Nadia Bou Ali, Johann Büssow, Anne-Laure Dupont, Marwa
Elshakry, Indira Falk Gesink, Dahlia Gubara, Mona Hegazy, Emad Helal, Ber-
nard Heyberger, James Kennedy, Tarif Al-Khalidi, Michiel Leezenberg, Koen
van Lieshout, Hisham Nashabe, Ruud Peters, Umar Ryad, Stephan Schmid,
Souad Slim, Dorothe Sommer, Shuang Wen, Florian Zemmin, but also from
all the kind people at ASH (previously ICH) and the department of Religious
Studies. Similarly, I valued the conversations I had at conferences, symposia
and lectures, which helped me sharpen my ideas and arguments. In particu-
lar, I was happy to discuss concepts of time and progress at the symposium I
co-organized with Judith and Richard in Beirut, in co-operation with the un-
fortunately discontinued Netherlands Institute Beirut and the inspiring Orient-
Institut Beirut (especially Stefan Knost). Lastly, I am grateful for the questions
and comments raised by the members of my doctoral committee (Elizabeth
Buettner, Johann Büssow, Michael Kemper, James Kennedy, Rudolph Peters
and Umar Ryad), which were of great help in re-writing this study.
viii Acknowledgments
In addition, invaluable assistance was offered by the library and archival
staff of the AUB, the Bibliothèque Orientale of the USJ, Balamand University,
Dār al-Kutub, Dār al-Wathāʾiq, AUC, Collège de Saint Famille Cairo, IDEO Cairo,
British Library, Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam. To tackle
all the difficult nineteenth-century Arabic sources I found in these libraries
and archives, Husayn, Majed, Nada and Manal of the Saifi Institute for Arabic
in Beirut greatly helped me – just like Ashraf did back in Amsterdam. Further-
more, the Arabic dictionaries digitalized by E.J. Taal were beacons of online
support. Similarly, I could not have gone without the support and accommoda-
tion offered by NVIC and NI-Beirut, although nothing could match the splen-
dor offered by Leonie’s apartment in Zamalek. Gail Zuckerwise checked most
of my English text at an astonishing speed – thank you so much.
I was lucky to share the joys and challenges of doing a PhD-research project
with many PhD-candidates around me, who were more often than not great
friends too. I have greatly benefitted from the kind support of my fellow NISIS
PhD-candidates Annemarie, Arjan, Claudia, Iis, Maryse, Mònica, Nuril, Piet-
er, Stijn, Sunarwoto, and Zoltan, and have enjoyed your company very much.
Similarly, I enjoyed the great company of many PhD-candidates in Islamic,
Arabic and/or Middle Eastern studies outside of NISIS in the Netherlands: my
ever creative and erudite paranimph Judith, as well as Nora, Josephine, Lucia,
Rogier, Zihni; of those with whom I have shared a beautiful office over the
years: Annemiek, Camille, Caroline, Claartje, Durkje, Matthijs, Nanouschka,
Peter, Rindert, Suzanne, Susanne, Tamara. In addition, I truly enjoyed the in-
teresting conversations and great laughs I had along the way with my fellow
historians Jan, Klaas, and Suze. Great distance did not prevent Justine from
avidly discussing my research, the academic world, or society in general with
me – luckily never without some life-giving irony. Other friends have great-
ly eased my path too. Roos, Claartje, Rashad, Ariela, Ghina, Leonie: how you
make me long for our time in Beirut and Cairo! But, luckily, home is sweet too
with lovely and ever-supportive paranimph Liesje on my side, as well as Anna,
Anne, Bregje, Carlijn, Jiska, Laura, Nora, Sjoerd, Thijs and Victoria.
I would like to thank my family and family-in-law for just being there. It feels
wonderful to know that Sanne and Lucy, Aïcha and her family, Casper and
Marta, Elisabeth and Jorge, my parents-in-law Si-Ling and Tonny and my par-
ents Annemarie and Wim care about me no matter what – and that there is
always an aunt, uncle, or nift, too. Lastly, I would like to thank my love Young
Kon. With you, I can travel far, dance daily, dive deep, think hard, laugh loud,
and I always have someone to come back to (à la Spinvis, Kom terug). I dedi-
cate this book to our daughters Fernande and Annemei, for no other reason
than because I love them.
Note onN Tortaen solna tTiroann asnlda tTiroann salnitde rTartaionnsliteration ix
Note on Translation and Transliteration
For the translation and transliteration of Arabic words in this study, I follow
the general translation and transliteration guidelines of the International Jour-
nal of Middle Eastern Studies (IJMES), with the exception of a few adjustments
and additions:1
– If an (originally) Arabic term is commonly used in the English language,
such as Quran, I omit hamzas and ʿayns as well as diacritical marks. In order to
avoid confusion, however, I limit these cases to an absolute minimum and pro-
vide translations for all other Arabic words, including titles of journals and
newspapers, names of institutions, etc.
– All other Arabic terms and phrases are fully transliterated according to
the IJMES guidelines (including hamzas, ʿayns, and diacritical marks, yet case
endings are omitted) and italicized. These include titles of sources and names
of historical figures and institutions in the main text.
– Arabic place names in the main text and Arabic names of authors who
published their works in a language other than Arabic are not transliterated. In
the latter case, I follow these authors’ preferred transliteration.
– For the sake of consistency, I transliterate Arabic words according to my
transliteration system when quoting secondary literature in the main text or
referring to their titles. The original transliteration of these words can be found
in the corresponding reference. Also, I transliterate Persian and Ottoman
names of historical figures and movements according to the Arabic translitera-
tion system. I add the most common Persian or Ottoman transliteration of
these names between brackets (e.g. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II (Abdülhamid II)).
– I use anglicized plurals in order to avoid confusion for the reader who is
not accustomed to the broken plural in the Arabic language. The only excep-
tion is ʿulamāʾ (Islamic scholars) because I suspect that most readers are more
familiar with the plural of this word than with the singular (i.e. ʿālim).
– For adjectives derived from Arabic words, I use –i (e.g. Salafi, Muʿtazili).
– In the references and bibliography, I fully transliterate names, titles, plac-
es, and publishers’ names. However, I translate names of months that have an
equivalent in English. In addition, whenever provided in the original source,
I add the dates according to the Islamic calendar (indicated by –h after the
year, e.g. 1437h).
1 Website of the editorial office of the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: “IJMES
Translation & Transliteration Guide,” 2013, accessed October 6, 2015, <http://ijmes.chass.ncsu.
edu/IJMES_Translation_and_Transliteration_Guide.htm>.
x Acknowledgments