Reform and Modernity in Islam: The Philosophical, Cultural and Political Discourses among Muslim Reformers by Safdar Ahmed (review)

Safdar Ahmed’s Reform and Modernity in Islam is a very welcome book. It is a worthwhile and original read for both experts in contemporary and modern Islamic thought, as well as students interested in a sound and thoughtful introduction to the complexity of Islamic discourses on modernity. Ahmed avoids the oversimplification one encounters far too often in works on Islamic discourses and their relationship to the West.

Reform and Modernity in Islam starts out with an investigation of 19^th century discourses that are dominated by an admiration of “Western” sciences and attempts to demonstrate that Islam or faith and rationality are dependent on each other and are by no means contradictory. Simultaneously, the idea of an ideal community of the early Muslims that became virulent in 20^th century Islamist discourses reemerges.

While the book covers a wide range of topics, one theme runs through a number of chapters: the status of women and gender more generally. As Ahmed emphasizes, “women were the signifiers of a society’s strength and weakness, its progress and decline” (p. 102). This recurring theme excellently illustrates the ambiguity and ambivalence of the discourses on modernity. The ambiguity, Ahmed aims to stress, is clearly visible in the second chapter on Urdu poetry: On the one hand, English was perceived as the language of modernity and power while the indigenous language was associated with effeminacy and decline. On the other hand, Ahmed highlights attempts to reform Urdu in order to bring it on par with the English language. The third chapter, “Education and the Status of Women,” argues that discourses on women’s education were “emancipatory in tone but also ambivalent about the consequences” (p. 103). The ambivalence rests on the need of women’s education, while simultaneously idealizing women’s natural place in society, based on the fear that women may slip from their role as wives, mothers, and housekeepers.

This ambivalence is reemphasized in the sixth chapter, “Maududi and the Gendering of Muslim Identity.” Abu al-A‘la Mawdudi idealizes Muslim women, cast against the backdrop of his perception of the Western woman, whom he pictures as a “self-centered abortionist, career woman and prostitute” (p. 196). While this image of the Western woman is a common stereotype in Islamist thinking, Ahmed highlights in his analysis of Mawdudi the centrality of female shame and women’s natural disposition and role in society. Superficially, women appear to be the stronger sex because, contrary to men, they are capable of controlling their sexual desires. As long as they do not leave their natural status, they embody the stabilizer of familial and social values, the backbone of society. Although it goes beyond the scope of Ahmed’s book, it is worthwhile noting that the emphasis of women’s “natural” place is not alien to late 19^th and 20^th century Western discourses on women’s role in society.

While gender-related issues cover perhaps half of the book, other relevant themes are thoughtfully discussed. Chapter 4, for example, brings to light through a discussion of Muhammad Iqbal, the conflict between nationalist ideas and Islam’s universal claim. The fifth chapter, “The Theory of Divine Sovereignty,” reevaluates Islamist thought on the Islamic state. The book concludes with a survey of trends in progressive Islam.

In sum, Reform and Modernity in Islam is an original, thoughtful, and well-argued book that should be of interest to a wide readership.