Crisis of Authority: Crisis of Islam?

Abstract

This essay examines the growing crisis of authority in the Muslim world of the past two hundred years. It is a crisis set in motion by the challenges of Western domination, intensified by those of globalisation, and exacerbated by Muslim attempts to resist them. It is a crisis which has pervaded all aspects of Muslim life, but one which has been felt particularly in the religious arena. Focussing initially on how authoritative religious knowledge was established and sustained down to c. 1800, the essay goes on to examine how this system broke down. It demonstrates the fragmentation of authority as new methods of interpretation emerge, as lay interpreters come forward to challenge the ʿulama, and as the individual human conscience comes to be given an increasingly important role. Consideration is also given to the growth of primary and higher education, the emergence of new electronic media, and the transnational movements of Muslims. The outcome has been the growth of a ‘spectacularly wild growth of interpretation’. It remains an open question as to whether this development is a cause for despair or a source of hope.

Kontestasi Dan Adaptasi Otoritas Keagamaan Tradisional: Mencermati Visi Dakwah Pesantren Darul Falah Bangsri Jepara

“…Banyak orang awam yang mulai mempertanyakan kelayakan otoritas ulama dalam menginterpretasikan persoalan ke-Islaman dan mencoba merebutnya. Otoritas keagamaan Islam sedang berada pada titik persimpangan karena sangat banyak orang, secara leluasa, mengajukan interpretasi keagamaannya (Robinson, 2009).…”

Shedding Light on the Modalities of Authority in a Dar al-Uloom, or Religious Seminary, in Britain

“…Media combined with what Eickelman and Anderson (2003) call the 'reintellectualisation of the Islamic doctrine', has led to new challenges for the traditionally trained ulama. Finally, as Robinson (2009) and Hamid (2018) argue, thanks to mass 6 Gaining access to DUs in Britain has been fraught with many challenges; see (Gilliat-Ray 2005). A handful of authors have written on DUs in Britain (Birt 2006;Birt and Lewis 2011;Geaves 1996;Lewis 2004), but none of them provides a detailed ethnographic account of the DU and young British Muslim experiences firsthand.…”

“…ulama. Finally, as Robinson (2009) and Hamid (2018) argue, thanks to mass education and literacy, especially in the context of modern Britain, imams, mosques and traditionally trained ulama and institutions may become less significant. According to these scholars, the result will be democratisation of Islamic knowledge (not dogma), though not a complete disconnect where a believer constructs their faith anew.…”

Conflicting Paradigms of Religious and Bureaucratic Authority in a British Mosque

“…Faruq's case illustrates the importance of Imam Mahboob's capacity in "bridging social capital" (Lewis 2006, p. 273) as a way to help youth in their aspiration for coherence (Asad 1986, p. 17) within the British context 13 where Pakistani Muslim adolescents have a stronger ethnic identity compared to Indians for instance (Robinson 2009). He was clearly an exception to other imams in terms of his ability to nurture a "cultural capital" to engage in civil society (Gilliat-Ray 2010, p. 163) even if it "takes time [to] accumulate" (Bourdieu 1986, p. 241).…”