Decolonizing the Study of Religions: Muslim Intellectuals and the Enlightenment Project of Religious Studies

The term 'religion' as a discursive term occupies a dominant, but neglected feature of Muslim intellectual reflections since the 19th century. Intellectuals from Muhammad Abduh (he died in 1905) to recent scholars like Nasr Hämid Abü Zayd (he died in 2010) have used religion as a critical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the study of religion
Main Author: Tayob, Abdulkader 1958- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: ASRSA [2018]
In: Journal for the study of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Science of Religion / Islamic philosophy / Religion / Discourse
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
BJ Islam
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
Further subjects:B Islamic Studies
B Decolonial
B Postcolonial
B Religious Studies
B Religion
B Talal Asad
B Islamic Reform
B Islamic Modernism
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Summary:The term 'religion' as a discursive term occupies a dominant, but neglected feature of Muslim intellectual reflections since the 19th century. Intellectuals from Muhammad Abduh (he died in 1905) to recent scholars like Nasr Hämid Abü Zayd (he died in 2010) have used religion as a critical term to develop a critique of tradition and modernity, and a strategy for renewal. This discourse may be compared with the study of religion since the 19th century that has also used religion to develop a perspective on the religious history of humankind. In this contribution, I argue that the two intellectual traditions that have employed religion - Kantian and the modern Islamic - point to very different ways of relating to the world, to the self and the 'other', and to the political condition of modernity. Rather than using the hegemonic Western tradition to make a judgment on the modern Islamic, I use the latter to point to the former's peculiar proclivities. Using the modern tradition among Muslim intellectuals, I invite an inquiry into both from each other' s positions.
ISSN:2413-3027
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17159/2413-3027/2018/v31n2a1