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Authority In The Muslim World

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The topic of religious authority in the Muslim world has been a debate since the beginning of early Islam. The debate of authority was centralized over who was able to elucidate the meaning of the texts of revelation. Over time, the superiority of who had the right to interpret the religious texts and guide the community changed from the pre-modern to the modern period.
The fuqaha’ were elite religious scholars, or members of a wealthy family, that rose to power in 700 (Lecture, October 19). The fuqaha’ understood collective responsibility by the use of Fard al-kifayah, which represents a ritual obligation a Muslim community can fulfill for the whole (Lecture, October 24). They presumed the masses, such as the peasants, would be unable to follow …show more content…

He drew from different schools of law to create an “American” school of Islamic thought and emphasized economic reform and also economic empowerment. The Revivalists, which represents 39.9% of the Muslim world, grew out of Muhammad Abduh and focused on individual rationalist interpretations of the Qur’an and Hadith. They believe that the complex set of rituals held by the fuqaha’ and neo-traditionalists separate you from God. Revivalists put the authority in the individual and want a black and white vision of right and wrong. Revivalists came up with three categories: Forbidden, neutral, and required. They wanted to take things that are recommended and put them in the required category as well as taking the things that are to be abstained from and place them into the forbidden category. Revivalists use the Shariah as their code of law. It is a written source of law that anyone can turn to and see what he or she should or should not do. Finally, the modernists, or less than 1% of the Muslim population, rejected the fuqaha’ for being irrational. They also reject the Hadith because they believe it …show more content…

Neo-traditionalists base what they do on the four schools of law and gives interpretive authority in scholars and teachers. It is different from the other trends because they still practice traditional schools of law. However, they are not any different from pre-modern views of fuqaha’ authority. Warith Deen Muhammad is a neo-traditional social reformer that based his views of how to create a just Muslim society on different schools to create an “American” school of Islamic thought. He also emphasized economic reform and economic empowerment. Revivalists break from Muhammad Abduh’s movement and focused on rational individual’s interpretations of the Qur’an and Hadith. They also create their own systems of welfare so they are not dependent on the state. Revivalism is different from the other trends because it focuses on the individuals and emphasizes the ability of anybody to read the Qur’an and Hadith and decide what they are supposed to do with it. It is different from pre-modern ideas of authority because it strictly relies on the individual and not the collective. Violent Revivalism represents the groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda. They reject the idea of a separation of the group and society and use violence to do so. This group is different from the others because

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