Living Without Why An Exploration of Personal Muslim Authenticity By Stephen Davis Trevathan Tutor: Dr Ian Draper Dept of Theology and Religion University of Birmingham College of Arts of Law Department of Theology and Religion January 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. I wish to dedicate this work to Shahnaz Akhtar and all of my children Special thanks to Dr Ian Draper and Mr Ibrahim Lawson Living Without Why An Exploration of Personal Muslim Authenticity By Stephen D.Trevathan Abstract This work aims to look into the question of authenticity and inauthenticity within the Muslim discourse. How muslim can Muslims really be ? Within the Muslim world the concept of authenticity is usually coupled with questions of adherence to the canonical and historical. Despite the fact that the Qur’an addresses the individual in a very direct manner, little emphasis seems to be focused on personal authenticity within contemporary Muslim circles. Muslim societies are understood to be communally based with less emphasis on the individual (Lewis : 2007) and yet inner searching has been very much a part of Muslim culture though this may now have shifted significantly in engaging with, what is argued here, as the increasing mundanization (Drane : 2000) and rationalist approaches to religion generally and specifically to Islam. This work sets out to explore what, if any, inauthenticities have arisen within the Muslim discourse that might have given rise to this. In attempting to think through these questions, various contemporary manifestations of global management culture are explored, the development of rationality within Muslim intellectual history and contemporary theological positions within Islam are brought up for examination. Throughout these enquiries any resulting connection with inauthenticity and rationalism is sought out. Has this management paradigm reached the religious sphere? Has there been a McDonaldization of Islam? How can these be effectively countered? Much of the analysis and discussion that takes place is through a dialectical perspective between classical Islamic and existentialist thought. One of main aims of this research is to demonstrate ways of thinking through to potential personal authenticity despite the obstacles mentioned. This is a personal exploration orientated towards a personal authenticity in the context of the individual Muslim. It is not meant to be prescriptive nor exclusive but provide an example of working intellectually through to some form of authentic Muslim ‘beingness’. Living without Why A Muslim’s Attempt to Authenticity By Stephen Trevathan Abstract Contents Introduction……………………………………………….………p.1 Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………..…..p.4 Rationale……………………………………………..…..p.4 A View of the Contemporary Situation and the Muslim Classical Tradition.......................……....p.6 Relevance of Existentialism to Muslim Classical Tradition…………………..…...p.7 Summary………………………………………………...p.18 Chapter 2 Hypotheses and Research Methods .p. 20 The Path this Research……………………………..p.24 Research Methodology..…………………………….p.25 Breakdown of Methodology by Chapter……..p.27 Critical Theory……………………………………….…p.29 Content Analysis…………………………………….…p.30 Use of Translated Works….....……………………..p.32 Hermeneutical Approaches…………………….….p.39 Translingual Approach……………………………...p.42 The Use of Texts ……………………………………....p.44 Previous and Current Research around the Subject………………………………………………..p.46 Chapter 3… Existential Authenticity…………………....p.53 Existential Authenticity………………………….….p.53 Mircea Eliade (1907 – 1986)……………………...p.54 Søren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855)……………....p.56 Inauthenticity………………………………………....….p.60 Chapter 4 The Iron Cage of Rationality – Global Management Culture and McDonaldization ………………………………..p.64 Rationalism, Irrationality and Inauthenticity…………...…p.65 Critique of Ritzer’s McDonaldization…………………………..p.66 McDonaldization in the Religious Realm?.............................p.70 McDonaldization of Islam? Has Barbie converted ?.........p.71 Summary…………………………………………………………………...p.73 Chapter 5 Reification and Egotistical Calculations……....….p.74 Reification……………………………………………………....................p.74 Reification and Religion……………………………………………....p.85 Cantwell-Smith’s – ‘The Meaning and End of Religion’…..p.86 The Reification of Islam…………………………………………….…p.99 Islam – Noun or Adjective?............................................................p.100 The Reification of Islam as an exception to the Rule……...p.104 Summary……………….…………………………………………………...p.118 Chapter 6 Positions within the Muslim Community in Light of Reification……………………………………………………….…..p.119 Traditional Classical Islam………………………………………..…p.120 Islamic Modernist…………………………………………………….....p.125 Commonalities within Modernist Muslim Movements….p.128 Reformist Secular Modernists ……………………………………...p.133 Areas of contention and confusion between Classical and Modernist Perspectives…………………………..……………………p.135 Summary………………….…………………………………………………p. 143 Chapter 7 Mysticism and the Iconoclasm of Islam……….......p.143 European Counterculture and the Muslim world………...p.143 Mysticism and the Religiously Maximalist - Minimalist Dichotomy ………………………………………………..……………….p.146 Mysticism…………………………………………………………………..p.149 Esotericism…………………………………….….……….………….......p.156 Summary…………………………………………….………………..…...p.158 Chapter 8 A Brief History of Rationalism in the Muslim Context………………………………………………..…......p.159 The Beginning and Development of Speculative Philosophy and Structured Theology within Islam…………………...….p.165 The Dichotomy of ‘Aqli and Naqli……………………………...p.173 Countering the Rationalists - Abu Hasan Al Ash’ari and the Mutakallimūn……………………………………………..…..p.184 An Encounter of some Interest………………………………….p.190 The Neo Hanbalīte Position…………………..……………….….p.192 The Sufi Approach……………………………………………….…...p.195 Exponency and Proponency………………………..…...............p.200 Some Conclusions…………………………………………..……..…p.202 Summary……………………………………………………………..…..p.205 Chapter 9 A Maghrebi and a Turkish Islam…….....……….......p.207 The Maghrebean Way……………………………………………….p.207 The Turkish Way……………………………………………….…..…p.215 The Mālikī Madhhab………………………………………………..….p.217 The Hanafī madhhab…………………………………………….…….p.227 Mujahaddah and Shakirin Approaches to Sufis……….….p.230 Summary……………………………………………………...……..…..p.233 Chapter 10 Living Without Why……………………….....................p.235 Critique of Axiomatic Structure………………………....p.236 Heidegger’s Without Why……………………………….p.239 Ibn ‘Arabi’s Taqyid wal Hasr (Limiting and Restricting)……………………………......p.241 Knowledge of the Self……………………………………p.246 The Nothing……………………………………………....p.248 Chapter 11 Aspects of a Path to Authenticity……………….….p.260 The ‘other than Allah’ and Falleness………………......…p.259 The Clearing and the Opening (faith)……………..……...p.265 Chapter 12 Time and the Moment…………………………….p.269 Al Waqt and the Øieblikket…………………………….....p.269 Chapter 13 A Concluding Chapter……………………………..p.275 Residual Effects of the Research………………………….p.277 Further Areas of Research………………………………...p.278 Conclusion………………………………………………...p.280 Bibliography……………………………………………………...p.282 Without Why An Exploration of Personal Muslim Authenticity By Stephen D.Trevathan Because there are Heaven and Earth the ten thousand creatures are born; because there are sun and moon Heaven and Earth have light; because there is the Sage enlightening teachings arise. To hear the teaching of the Sage is to deepen knowledge and perception, to know the past, clearly to understand the future and the present, to grasp the origin of Heaven and Earth and the source of the myriad creatures, to attain to celestial principles and to see into the hearts of men; it shows us the road we have come by and demonstrates the return to Reality; The Three-Character Rhymed Classic on the Ka’bah th Early 18 Century Chinese Muslim Poem (Anon) Introduction This thesis sets out to demonstrate the process of arriving at an existential theology for a Muslim individual, namely myself, the author of this work. What is put before the reader makes no claim to be the way of authentic muslim ‘beingness’ but is rather an undertaking of a way among other possible ways. Though stemming from the subjective, any assertions are constantly examined against an objective critique. It attempts to demonstrate a Muslim reasoning towards authenticity, within the context of a bewildering plethora of positions vis a vis the Divine, the Prophet, Divine law, society, the other and finally the self. Despite personal affiliation to Islam and active participation within British, Dutch, Spanish and Moroccan Muslim communities for over forty years as well as extensive travel across the Muslim world, the balance between the emic and etic is held. The researcher is well aware of the dangers of the 1 ‘Candid Ethnographer’ dilemma (Fine :1993) entailing the researcher working under the illusion that, situated within the field of study, rather than an outside observer, what is reported is the unmitigated truth. No such illusion was present