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'ilm al-tarikh: Introduction |
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"...even the relatively casual student of things Islamic
should be aware of the history of Islamics studies"
(Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, Volume 1, 1977, p.39) |
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The study of Islam is both an ancient and modern endeavour. The former has
its roots among Muslims in a long-established and continuing tradition of
scholarship and interpretation of their own faith. Among others, particular
medieval Christians, the study was motivated by polemical ends ... The tendency
has lingered on, though the medieval constructions and assaults on islam have
assumed different forms and emphasis. The academic study of modern Islam, on the
other hand, grew primarily out of the Enlightenment tradition of European
scholarship and interest in Asian and African cultures and peoples, and had
assumed by the nineteenth and twentieth centuries some of the normative contours
and institutional patters that are associated with the general discipline of
though and expertise known as Oriental Studies or Orientalism." |
Nanji, A. [Ed.] (1997)
Mapping Islamic Studies:
Genealogy, Continuity and Change
(Walter de Gruyter & Co)
-notes herein from Nanji's Introductory chapter-
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"Orientalism" as a concept defining Western perceptions of the Oriental 'other'
is neither parallel with nor exclusive to Oriental Studies and arguably
transverses Enlightenment and Christian investigations of Islam. It's history is
longer, it's scope wider and it's relationship to Western self-understandings
are more entangled than might be implied by any notion of misinformation born of
colonial dominance.
See: Mind Map Notes from Edward Said (1978)
Orientalism plus a searing reinvocation Orientalism can be found in
Ziauddin Sardar's Orientalism (Milton
Keynes: Open University Press,
1999). |
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Western scholarship followed shift among some Muslims towards
the Shariah period and away from supposedly decadent Sufism etc, thus:
"...the Cairene path to Islamic Studies became the Islamicist's path par
excellence..." (p.40) which was largely an Arabist/philological one. Led
to excessive focus on Arab Middle East in study of Islam.
Move beyond occidental categories to those used by Islamicate
plus those from study of world history, culture, society, etc.; broader cultural
outlook; wider linguistic range, etc. |
Hodgson, Marshall G. S. (1977)
The Venture of Islam, Volume 1
(University of Chicago Press)
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"Perhaps the most encouraging trend in Islamic Studies in recent times is the
cosmopolitan profile of the scholars and their methods in the field. The
migration of European scholars to the Americas has been followed by the
migration of scholars from the Muslim world to both Europe and America ... one
cannot easily seperate contemporary scholarship in terms of "Western" and
"Muslim". When combined with the rapid changes in communication made possible by
advanced in technology ... collaboration between scholars within a continent and
across continents, has become much easier. The cross-fertilization is reflected
in the fact that Islamic Studies now radiates from within many departments and
disciplines... This new constellation of interests and constituencies ... augurs
well for a transnational scholarly landscape..."
"There are many possibilities open for adding to its subject matter and
methods, including the role of Islam as a cultural force of great diversity; the
increasing public participation in society by women .. the history of rural,
agricultural and mountainous peoples of the Muslim world and new interactions
among Muslims now living in the West. In this way, a vibrant humanistic
scholarship can contribute to knowledge, linking a fifth of humanity that is
Muslim, to others among whom Muslims live and with whom they share increasingly
the task of building mutual understanding." |
Nanji, A. [Ed.] (1997)
Mapping Islamic Studies:
Genealogy, Continuity and Change
(Walter de Gruyter & Co)
-notes herein from Nanji's Introductory chapter-
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The mind maps accessible via the links below have been developed from William Montgomery Watt's Islam: A Short History
(Oxford: One World, 1996) and aims to give an introduction to some of the key names,
terms and movements in the history of the Islamicate. However, the Tasneem
Project seeks to an engage with Islamicate history from
a world history or world-systems perspective rather than a
Eurocentric perspective. This will be developed further in the
next section. |
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Arabia and Mecca before Islam
Arabia and Mecca before Islam
(part 2) Muhammad's Early Life and Call
The
Response at Mecca The Response at Mecca (part 2)
Muhammad at Medina
Muhammad at Medina (part 2)
The Formation of the Caliphate
The Expansion of Islam
Islamic Law
The Development of Muslim Theology
After al-Ghazali
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Watt, W. M. (1996)
Islam: A Short History
(Oxford: One World)
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Humphreys, R. S. (1997) Tradition and Innovation in the
Study of Islamic History: The Evolution of North American Scholarship since 1960,
Lecture at the University of Tokyo
http://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/IAS/English/Unit/Soukatu/Soukatu-l/humphreys.html
accessed 21/05/08 |
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islam/the pen |
