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The Arab revolutions of 2011 were a transformative moment in the modern history of the Middle East, as people rose up against long-standing autocrats throughout the region to call for ‘bread, freedom and dignity’. With the passage of... more
The Arab revolutions of 2011 were a transformative moment in the modern history of the Middle East, as people rose up against long-standing autocrats throughout the region to call for ‘bread, freedom and dignity’. With the passage of time, results have been decidedly mixed, with relative success stories like Tunisia contrasting with the emergence of even more repressive dictatorships in places like Egypt, with the backing of several Gulf states.

Focusing primarily on Egypt, this book considers a relatively understudied dimension of these revolutions: the role of prominent religious scholars. While pro-revolutionary religious scholars justified activism against authoritarian regimes, counter-revolutionary scholars have provided religious backing for repression, and in some cases the mass murder of unarmed protestors.

Usaama al-Azami traces the public engagements and religious pronouncements of several prominent scholars in the region, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Ali Gomaa and Abdullah bin Bayyah, to trace their role in either championing the Arab revolutions or supporting their repression. He concludes that a significant consequence of counter-revolutionary scholarly engagements has been the precipitation of a crisis of authority among their followers around the world, including among Western Muslims.
If you would like a copy of this paper, please email me at usaama.al-azami@orinst.ox.ac.uk Neo-traditionalism is trying to develop its own transnational Islamic political discourse, but it is struggling in the shadow of Islamism. The... more
If you would like a copy of this paper, please email me at usaama.al-azami@orinst.ox.ac.uk

Neo-traditionalism is trying to develop its own transnational Islamic political discourse, but it is struggling in the shadow of Islamism. The Arab Spring, which put forward the proposition of popular participation in the political process created the impetus for this. Islamists had a readymade discourse backed by reasonably effective civil society institutions to fall back on that helped galvanize their activists relatively successfully even if it has so far proved a mostly abortive effort. Counter-revolutionary Neo-traditionalism which has contrasted with Islamism in its statist orientation has consequently only had relatively sclerotic civil society institutional infrastructure. In the wake of the Arab revolutions, one of the most important state-backed Arab scholars to attempt to remedy this state of affairs has been 'Abdullah Bin Bayyah (b. 1935). Yet his ideas appear largely derivative of, or reactions to, Islamist ideas and institutions. This article traces the evolution of some of Bin Bayyah’s activities and ideas from the beginning of the Arab revolutions in 2011 to his decisive break with the Islamists in 2013, and finally his establishment of counter institutions and institutional initiatives to the Islamists in the years that followed. I argue that many of his ideas and initiatives appear to be little more than the repackaging of Islamist discourse in Neo-traditionalist garb. Given that counter-revolutionary Neo-traditionalism is, by design, structurally subordinate to an authoritarian state, it seems unlikely that it will develop any long-lasting and independent Islamic political discourse.
The attached document contains a translation of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's fatwa on democracy, as found in Roxanne L. Euben and M Qasim Zaman's Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought. The original Arabic follows the translation. The translation... more
The attached document contains a translation of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's fatwa on democracy, as found in Roxanne L. Euben and M Qasim Zaman's Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought. The original Arabic follows the translation. The translation is not my own, and is only provided here for ease of access.
The following is a translation of the comments of a contemporary Mauritanian Islamic scholar and Islamist politician made in response to an interview of Hamza Yusuf published by France 24 on 7 January 2019. The original interview appears... more
The following is a translation of the comments of a contemporary Mauritanian Islamic scholar and Islamist politician made in response to an interview of Hamza Yusuf published by France 24 on 7 January 2019.  The original interview appears to have been recorded in early December 2018 at the same time as the 2018 Forum for Promoting Peace in Islamic Societies, and at the same venue as the Forum that year, namely at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Hotel in Abu Dhabi.  A recorded response from Wuld al-Ḥājj al-Shaykh was made available through social media shortly after France 24 published the interview.  Wuld al-Ḥājj al-Shaykh is a Mauritanian MP and until 2018 was the deputy speaker of the Mauritanian Parliament. Born in Timbedra in south-eastern Mauritania, he pursued Islamic studies in the traditional Mauritanian maḥẓara system.
Research Interests:
This is the translation of an Arabic statement published on June 7th 2017 from the UAE-sponsored Forum Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Criticising Qatar. The statement was issued shortly after the blockade of Qatar began on 5th June... more
This is the translation of an Arabic statement published on June 7th 2017 from the UAE-sponsored Forum Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Criticising Qatar. The statement was issued shortly after the blockade of Qatar began on 5th June 2017.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: