Thread by @DrJavadTHashmi

I am a bit surprised that @XGONDALX would say any of this as I am assuming he is familiar with my views on such a subject. My suspicion is that he is trying to sow the seeds of discord & get fellow Muslims to turn on me since he knows my views are highly controversial. 1/

https://twitter.com/XGONDALX/status/1388671968971534336

I have been meaning to issue a clarification of my notorious interview with @MuftiAbuLayth, so this is a good opportunity to do so, especially since I have another one coming out tomorrow (Minding Scripture) with Prof. @GabrielSaidR & Prof. @MunimSirry. 2/

Recently, I have been trying to be more cautious with my words & respectful towards my co-religionists. This interview that is about to come out was recorded months ago so I don't remember how militant of a tone I struck... Hopefully, it wasn't that strident. 3/

With my MALM interview, I came out like a bat out of hell, because I had all of these bottled up emotions, frustrated as I was that, in my opinion, the Islamic public discourse was not very sophisticated & I felt we were just so "behind" compared to Jews & Christians. 4/

But, I realize now that I must show patience, wisdom, & softness with my own community. What I view as "behind," many of them view as "ahead." In any case, let me clarify: Yes, I have expressed the view that the Qur'an should not be viewed as a book of history or science. 5/

Along with a long line of Islamic thinkers--ʿAbduh, Ṭahā Ḥusayn, Amīn al-Khūlī, Muḥammad Khalafallāh, & Naṣr Abū Zayd--I view the Qur'an as a work of (divine) literature. The Qur'an is meant not to convey the facts of history or science, but rather... 6/

to exhort human beings to do good & eschew evil. It is primarily a homiletic text (as @GabrielSaidR has argued) & hortatory in nature. I am now writing an article on Khalafallāh's work, The Narrative Art of the Qur'an, in which he argues this effectively. 7/

Khalafallāh writes: "The intent of the Qur'an in the narratives was nothing but admonition (ʿibra) & exhortation (ʿiẓa) & never was instruction in history or explication of its [literal] truth." It is about meaning-making, not about the conveyance of historical truths; 8/

The Qur'an strips the narratives of their historical particularities in order to universalize them so that they can be used for meaning-making. This means connecting the ideas of its addressees with these higher moral, spiritual, & religious truths. 9/

Khalafallāh invokes internal proof from the Qur'an itself to make this argument, pointing out that the same story is often retold in different ways--with different conversations attributed to the same figures--in order to bring home a different point & purpose. 10/

Despite the fact that he faced severe backlash from conservative religious circles, Khalafallāh wrote this book to defend the Qur'an against the attacks levied against it by the "Orientalists, Missionaries, & atheists." So, even if you yourself as a Muslim find this... 11/

to be anathema to your personal beliefs, please understand one of the strong motivations for adopting such a view is to protect the Qur'an from such a line of attack. For me, I have embraced this view because it accords with my secular academic training. 12/

I was perhaps too bombastic in my initial presentation of this view, which is unfair, given that it took me years to arrive at this view. How can I expect fellow Muslim believers to just adopt it wholesale in one minute? I should have shown more wisdom & patience. 13/

Similarly, I should not have mocked the beliefs of Sh. Yasir Qadhi, whom I respect deeply. On that note, my mom watches his lectures all the time, & I cannot convince even my own mom of my views! In fact, I actively try NOT to share my views with her. 14/

If you are secure in your faith & beliefs, then there is no real urgency to go down this line of thinking. This is really only for those who now find it hard to believe certain things. If this is not you, then al-Ḥamdu lillāh. 15/

All I ask you is that the reasonable ones amongst you give me & those like me a little breathing room to operate, so long as we are not pushy & offensive, which I will try not to be. Those who really know me know where my loyalties lie, & that I can be a great service... 16/

to the Muslim community, especially when it is being attacked on all sides & few people are equipped to deal with these sorts of issues. 17/

As to the meat of the issue, yes I said in the MALM interview that we only know that Muḥammad & Jesus existed, at least from a secular historical perspective. Some Muslims were naturally scandalized by this & thought I was saying that previous prophets did *not* exist. 18/

I must clarify that, in that interview, I was trying to fall back to what I feel would be our fortress of faith, because that is where we are strongest. In other words, if modern historical scholarship were to problematize the historicity of past prophets, we would be OK. 19/

This view was expressed, albeit obliquely, by none other than the great Fazlur Rahman. Of course, I think it is perfectly fine for Muslims to believe in the historicity of Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. since we don't have definitive proof AGAINST their existence either. 20/

As for me, I choose to believe that the stories in the Qur'an could be, at least for the most part, based on historical figures & events, even though the Qur'an retells the stories in a creative literary way in order to drive home certain theological & religious points. 21/

This is then a matter of faith rather than historical scholarship. Yet, I recognize that @shahanSean's suspicion of their very existence might also be true, & all I say to this is that it should not make us lose faith in the Qur'an, which is, as we said, a literary text. 22/

In my interview coming out, I extend this view to "scientific" claims that people make of the Qur'an & I embrace the view that the Qur'anic cosmology is mythological. I use this word in the *academic* sense which is not what it is commonly understood to mean (as "false"). 23/

Mythology has been devalued in the modern world but it is, in fact, the basis of meaning-making & has great value. It is, in my mind, superior to scientific knowledge. I'd rather have meaning in life than just know how life came about. 24/

Finally, I ask that you simply give leeway & understand these views as coming out of a different approach, a secular academic one. Even if you wholeheartedly disagree, perhaps you will come to realize some value in having this as a backup option available to some believers.. 25/

in a time of unbelief & irreligion. But, I do understand the view of some Muslims who would feel that it is like saving the baby by drowning it. I don't agree, but I realize this is a real concern. 26/