Learning, Gnosis and Exegesis

Public tafsīr and Sufi Revival in the City of Kano (Northern Nigeria), 1950-1970

Bibliographic Data

ID4868370
AuthorsAndrea Brigaglia (0000-0002-3770-4963, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume49
Issue3-4
Pages334-366
Publication date2009-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDie Welt des Islams (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-2539 • E-ISSN: 1570-0607
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/157006009x449465
OpenAlexW2947411075
LanguageEN
Citations received4

Of all scientific theories the theory of evolution arguably poses the greatest challenge to theistic religions because it threatens to undermine teleology and the central position of mankind in nature. Nevertheless, modernist thinkers among South Asian Muslims like Sayyid Aḥmad Khān and Abū l-Kalām Āzād strove to demonstrate its compatibility with the Qur’ān. Their efforts were rejected by Islamists like Mawdūdī and more traditional scholars writing on the subject. They defended the concept of a consciously designed universe instead. That the defence of this idea is the main motivation for resentment against the theory of evolution among Muslims is underscored by the fact the even a thinker like Ghulām Aḥmad Parwez, who readily dismissed central concepts of traditional theology, accepted the concept of evolution only without the principle of natural selection. Although negative assessments prevail, the theory of evolution did not foment a campaign among South Asian Muslims as it did in Turkey. This is most likely due to the lack of awareness among many ‘ulamā’ and the fact that the theory of evolution was not ideologically appropriated by adversaries of Islamic groups

Epistemology · Exegesis · Ideology · Islam · Political science · Resentment · Sociology · Subject (documents) · Teleology · Theism · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria

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