Interpreting Islam: Bandali Jawzi's Islamic Intellectual History

by Tamara Sonn

Overview

In this book, Sonn provides the first English translation of The History of Intellectual Movements in Islam (1928), a seminal text of Arab modernism written by the Palestinian intellectual Bandali al-Jawzi (1871-1942). In that book, Jawzi offered the first Marxist interpretation of the history and development of Islamic thought. The continuing importance of his work lies in Jawzi's critical method of reevaluating both European "orientalist" and classical Muslim accounts of Islamic history. Fifty years before Edward Said's landmark Orientalism, Jawzi identified the vested imperial interests as the weakness in both methodologies. Sonn's translation brings to life this skillful and entertaining critique of Islamic history. Her introduction places Jawzi's thought in context with both postmodern intellectuals and Muslim reformers who continue the struggle to apply Islamic principles to contemporary life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195356564
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/10/1996
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)
File size:	361 KB

About the Author

University of South Florida

Editorial Reviews

The first English translation of the 1928 seminal text of Arab modernism, "History of Intellectual Movements in Islam" by Palestinian Bandali al-Jawzi (1871-1942). The continuing importance of the work lies in his critical evaluation of both European orientalism and classical Muslim heresiography, and his use of fragments of sources other than those used by the classical Islamic historians, especially in regard to rebel movements. Sonn (religious studies, U. of South Florida) also presents a 66-page introduction. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"A significant contribution to the study of Islamic intellectual history in general and Arab Marxist analysis in particular. Sonn introduces the English reader to a significant study of an important aspect of Islamic intellectual history in the modern era written by a scholar who hitherto has not been well known, even among specialists in Islamic studies."— The International Journal of Middle East Studies

"Sonn's volume is more than a translation, however. In an introduction and lengthy commentary, Sonn attempts to place the work in historical context as well as to show the rather striking ways in which its views anticipate the 'neohistoricist' postmodernist perspective of more recent authors....It is a provocative and carefully crafted thesis that merits careful attention....This translation, the first ever in English, is a welcome addition to the literature on modern Arab thought and is highly recommended to all academic and public libraries concerned with the modern Middle East and Islam."—Choice

"Professor Sonn is to be highly commended for rightfully restoring Bandali Jawzi to Arab Muslim intellectual history and in presenting his major work in a fluid, engaging translation. This book should prove very appealing to both the specialist and the nonspecialist and will be a useful aid in stimulating classroom discussions on how politics and religion interface, especially in the Islamic milieu."—The Review of Politics

"...a welcome contribution to the understanding of Islamic reform movements."—Journal of Palestine Studies

"Jawzi's book is a telling historical artifact, and Tamara Sonn is to be commended for reintroducing and rendering it accessible to a contemporary audience."—Middle East Journal

From the Publisher