On the Idea of European Islam Voices of Perpetual Modernity By Mohammed Hashas A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to Political Theory Programme in the Faculty of Political Science, LUISS University of Rome, Italy LUISS Advisors: External Advisor: Professor Sebastiano Maffetone Doctor Jan Jaap de Ruiter Professor Francesca Corrao Tilburg University, the Netherlands March 2013 This page is intentionally left blank ii Abstract This work raises and deals with the following question: is European Islam possible? Following the methodology adopted in studying the selected texts, I argue that it is possible, theologically and politically. To corroborate my argument, I assist myself with three sub-questions that correspond to three cognitive and methodological stages of work. In the descriptive stage, I tackle this question: what is European Islam? I select four projects that advocate what I refer to as the “idea of European Islam.” These projects are advanced by Bassam Tibi, Tariq Ramadan, Tareq Oubrou, and Abdennour Bidar. Despite their differing approaches, I use textual analysis approach in reading the main aspects and concepts of their projects, which I later use for comparative purposes and conceptualization of the idea of European Islam. Subsequently, I enter the comparative stage so as to better understand what European Islam brings new. This stage deals with the following question: what is new in European Islam? Here, I revisit three scholarly generations from the Islamic tradition as a way of finding out what they share, or not, with European Islam. I refer to the Muʻtazila rationalist theological tradition, with major reference to the example of Qadi Abd Aljabbar. I then refer to some iconic figures of the “early reformists” of the Arab-Islamic Renaissance (naḥḍa), and “late reformists” or contemporaries. The third and final stage is evaluative. It deals with this question: is European Islam a “reasonable comprehensive doctrine”? This analytical stage uses two philosophical frameworks, one theological and the other political, one “Islamic” and the other “Western” to use common differentiating markers: Taha Abdurrahmane’s framework of theological renewal for innovative modernity, based on his The Spirit of Modernity (2006), with reference to “humanization-historicization-rationalization” innovative plans, and John Rawls’ “idea of overlapping consensus,” based on his Political Liberalism (1996). The “idea of European Islam” as I conceptualize it is “revisionist-reformist,” or “traditional-modern,” in the sense that it embraces modernity values and legitimizes them theologically-politically. It “sacralizes” man, “divinizes” modern values, and “perpetuates” modernity. It does not deny the divine but works with it as the ultimate source of ethics and meaning. The “Muslim Prometheus” as an heir of the universe does not antagonize with God. Man becomes a “co-worker” with God. In summarizing statements that correspond to “world-society-individual” comprehensive framework I adopt in this project, I argue that European Islam 1) “humanizes the world through divinely willed inheritance for cosmic wellbeing,” 2) “historicizes revelation through fiqhology (or practical fiqh) for social wellbeing,” and 3) “rationalizes individual faith through the principle of ethical liberty for individual wellbeing.” This makes it confidently “inlandish” in liberal constitutional democracies, as those of Western Europe. iii Preface Transliteration Arabic terms are transliterated according to the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) transliteration system. Frequently used words such as Muslim, Muhammad (the Prophet), Quran, Sunna, Sharia, Shahada, hadith, fiqh, kalam, falsafa madhab, umma, ijtihad and jihad, appear without diacriticals; they also appear unitalicized, and in the upper or lower case as just listed. They are not italicised either. Transliterations, especially those with diacriticals, are italicised. An apostrophe is used for the letter hamzah. A superscript comma is used for the ‘ayn letter instead of cayn. The exceptions in the transliterations that occur in this work are due to the different styles the studied scholars and citations use, which I cannot change. For example, “Sharia” will be found written in four forms: “Sharia” (in upper case), “sharia” (in lower case), “Shari‘ah” and “shari’a” (either in upper or lower case, besides the apostrophe of the Arabic letter ‘ayn). “Shahada” will be found also written as “Ash-Shahada.” “Jamal Eddine al- Afghani” will be found also referred to as “Jamal Ed-dine Afghani” or simply “Afghani.” Titles of books and sentences in Arabic do not start in upper case, except for terms like kalam, falsafa and fiqh that occur as titles of (sub-)sections. Translation All the translations from Arabic and French are mine, unless otherwise indicated. Referencing notes and titles of books are either in English, or in French, after their original titles are provided. Arabic original titles are provided in brackets when they are first referred to, and the subsequent citations from these titles are to the English translation, for ease of reference. The bibliography also provides the non-English titles translated and transliterated, instead of providing the Arabic scripts or listing the Arabic titles in a different category. “Primary sources” in the bibliography refers to the major texts studied in this work, and is not limited only to texts on “the” European Islam examined here; it also includes the supportive texts I have used, as my “methodological concerns” in the main introduction explain. Abbreviations Abbreviations in the acronym format are not used. Instead, shortened titles are opted for, to avoid the confusions titles bearing similar words may invoke. For example, Tibi’s Islam’s Predicament with Modernity: Religious Reform and Cultural Change is abbreviated as Islam’s Predicament in the repeated references to the same work. iv Bibliography and Index The “secondary sources” category in the bibliography lists some classic titles that are “primary” like al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Khaldun’s, or contemporary titles like al- Qaradawi’s. But since I refer to them just in passing or in a note, they appear in “secondary sources” list. Al-Attar’s Islamic Ethics, on the other hand, appears “primary” because I have used it substantially for the scholar it treats: Qadi Abd Aljabbar. I also provide an index for a detailed table of contents that lists sub-sections and entries that the introductory table of contents does not. Key Words Islam in Europe, European Islam, Euro-Islam, European Islamic Thought, European Muslims, Contemporary Islamic Thought, Arab-Islamic Renaissance, Reform, Kalam, Muʻtazila, Reason, Islamic Ethics, Sharia Law, Sharia Objectives, Social Justice, Islamic Modernity, Spiritual Modernity, Perpetual Modernity, Revelation, Political- Theology, Theosophy, Heir of God, Reasonable Comprehensive Doctrine, Overlapping Consensus, Reasonable Pluralism, Political Liberalism. © Submitted to LUISS University on 29 March 2013. v Acknowledgments This project is a beginning in my intellectual journey. I could not have pursued it without the support of many people that I unfortunately cannot all name here. They know who they are. For this particular work, I am very grateful to LUISS PhD programme in Political Theory for having supported this research with a scholarship for three years (XXV Cycle, 2010-2013). I especially express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Professor Sebastiano Maffetone, head of the PhD programme and dean of the Faculty of Political Science, and Professor Francesca Corrao, chair of Arabic Studies and main mentor of this work, for their support of this work on numerous levels. Discussing this work with them in various stages of its development, and receiving their feedback was very inspiring and encouraging to me. I equally thank very much Prof Giovanni Orsina, head of the Master in European Studies (MES), Dr Christian Blasberg, Dr Daniele Santoro, and Prof Giuliano Amato, for having also encouraged me to work on this topic when I drafted it as a proposal few years ago. Thanks go also to all LUISS PhD team with which I often had inspiring discussions on religion, politics and part of this work. I especially name the ones who read some chapters of this work and sent valuable remarks: Dr Aakash Singh, Dr Domenico Melidoro, Dr Valentine Gentile, and Federica Liveriero. As to outside-LUISS contributors to this work, I first thank a lot Dr Jan Jaap de Ruiter, my external mentor, with whom I first worked on the idea of European Islam at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands in summer 2010. A part of my fieldwork on Tariq Ramadan and Young Moroccan-Dutch Muslims is co-authored with him, which is referred to in the last section of this dissertation. I also thank Babylon Center for Multicultural Studies in Tilburg for some funding I received in conducting the fieldwork, which many other people around the Netherlands assisted me in during my questionnaire distribution and interviewing. Special thanks go also to Professor Jorgen Nielsen, head of the Center of European Islamic Thought (CEIT) at the University of Copenhagen, for having hosted me for a whole academic year (Sept. 2011 - Jun. 2012), and for having recently edited my article on Abdennour Bidar, which is originally a part of this dissertation, for The Journal of Muslims in Europe (JOME). I thank JOME anonymous editors for their fruitful comments