Islamic Revival

Islamic Revival
The Cheesedealer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Islamic Revival
Occupation	Social, religious, and political movements

Islamic Revival Islamic Revival refers to a broad set of movements, currents, and initiatives since the early modern period that sought to reassert, reinterpret, or renew Islamic belief, practice, law, and polity across diverse societies. These movements intersect with figures, institutions, and events spanning the Ottoman Empire, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, Abul A'la Maududi, and states such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Revivalist currents have engaged with colonialism, nationalism, modernity, and transnational networks including Hajj, al-Azhar University, Darul Uloom Deoband, and Jamia Millia Islamia.

Background and Definitions

Scholars situate Islamic Revival alongside terms like Islamism, Salafism, Wahhabism, Sufism, and Reform movement to differentiate theological renewal from political projects such as Islamic Republic of Iran or organizational forms like Muslim Brotherhood. Debates over definition invoke texts including the Qur'an, collections like Sahih al-Bukhari, legal schools such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali, and institutional actors including Grand Imam of al-Azhar and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Historical Precursors

Precursors include reformers and movements: Ibn Taymiyya and his critiques of Taqlid; revival during the Mongol invasion of the Islamic world and restoration efforts by the Ilkhanate and Mamluk Sultanate; the reformist discourses of Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti and Ibn Khaldun; and Ottoman-era reforms such as the Tanzimat and the role of the Mehmed Akif Ersoy era. Encounters with European colonialism, treaties like the Treaty of Karlowitz, and events such as the Crimean War catalyzed intellectual responses from institutions like Madrasah networks.

18th–19th Century Reform Movements

The 18th century saw movements led by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the Najd allied with the House of Saud, the Sokoto Caliphate consolidated by Usman dan Fodio, and reformist currents in South Asia with figures such as Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. The 19th century featured responses from Muhammad Abduh, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, and Reformers of the Ottoman Empire who engaged with institutions like the Istanbul University and events such as the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). Colonial administrations including the British Raj and the French colonial empire influenced the emergence of Wahhabism, Deobandi movement, and Ahl-i Hadith networks.

20th Century Revivalism and Political Islam

The 20th century produced mass organizations and states: Muslim Brotherhood founded by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt, Jamaat-e-Islami by Abul A'la Maududi in British India/Pakistan, revolutionary change in Iran under Ruhollah Khomeini leading to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and Islamist parties such as Ennahda Movement, Justice and Development Party (Turkey), and Hizb ut-Tahrir. Global events—Suez Crisis, Six-Day War, Soviet–Afghan War—shaped networks including Saudi Arabian religious establishments, Muslim World League, and transnational charities like Islamic Relief. Thinkers such as Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, Fazlur Rahman, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and institutions like Council on Foreign Relations and universities including Aligarh Muslim University framed competing models of political theology and social reform.

Regional Variations and Case Studies

In the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia institutionalized Wahhabism via the King Abdulaziz state and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud alliance. In South Asia, Deoband seminaries and Barelvi movement shaped Pakistan’s religious landscape alongside parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. In North Africa, al-Azhar University and movements like Ennahda in Tunisia interacted with colonial legacies from France. In Southeast Asia, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah in Indonesia and organizations in Malaysia negotiated with colonial-era entities like British Malaya. In West Africa, reformers like Ahmadu Bello and states such as Nigeria saw revivalist politics intersect with ethnic movements like Kanem-Bornu. Case studies include the Iranian Revolution, the role of Petrodollar diplomacy in Saudi outreach, and the transformation of Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (Turkey).

Religious Thought, Practices, and Institutions

Revival engaged jurisprudential debates across madhhabs, scripturalist movements such as Salafiyya versus mystical networks associated with Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya orders, and educational institutions like Darul Uloom Deoband and al-Azhar University. Discourses on Ijtihad, Hadith authentication, and reinterpretations of the Qur'an produced literature from Rashid Rida to Abdulaziz Sachedina and Amina Wadud. Practices included renewed emphasis on Hajj, zakat administration through entities like Islamic Development Bank and Zakat Fund, and legal reforms in states invoking sharia via courts such as those in Sudan and Pakistan.

Critiques, Challenges, and Contemporary Debates

Critiques arose from secularists like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and thinkers in the Arab Renaissance (Nahda), from feminist scholars such as Fatema Mernissi and Leila Ahmed, and from liberal critics within institutions like Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Challenges include radicalization linked to groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, counter-extremism efforts by United Nations bodies, geopolitical influences from United States foreign policy and Soviet Union, and internal debates over pluralism involving scholars from Ibn Rushd-inspired traditions to contemporary jurists in International Court of Justice-adjacent fora. Contemporary debates address democracy and rights in contexts such as Tunisia and Egypt, legal pluralism in Malaysia and Nigeria, and the role of digital platforms including YouTube and Twitter in transnational dissemination.

Category:Islamic history