This is a gem of book by @a_el_shamsy . One of few books in English, leaves you questioning words such as ‘canon’ & ‘tradition’, ‘ijaza’.

Reading this you realise how many of Neo-Trad arguments are in fact Salafi ones in disguise, and how many Salafi arguments do in fact tell.

https://twitter.com/_titanslayer_/status/1975148891319550005

The arguments that seem to populate Muslim English discourse seem to be interminable. If you want a richer understanding and a more historical context of these debates; then this is a very good place to start.

1. I have been encouraging others to find out about China, and 'Islam in China' - James D. Frankel, is a book I very much recommend.

It's very useful as an accessible and short introduction to a tradition of Islam that I knew very little about;
A short thread and posts🧵
2. Why Muslims should learn about China:
a) China–Muslim ties are increasingly reshaping global affairs
b) Asia is new geopolitical hub; China and Muslim world already share centuries of relations
c) Muslims have been in China over 1,200 shows profound and exchange between them

Rereading @colebunzel Wahhabism, for research purposes.

It’s a remarkable piece of sober, meticulous piece of scholarship, there’s nothing like it in English or even unfortunately in Arabic.
Based on early histories and manuscripts, it reconstructs early scholarly debates, the enigmatic man in the middle, his controversial doctrines and the impact of the 1st, 2nd Saudi State.
There are some astonishing historical facts I can’t help but share, longer review to follow.

So I’m starting a small series on reading on philosophical problem of evil.

I do have some background on it, but I thought it useful to start with VSI Evil by Luke Russell.
A short thread.🧵 Evil is brief account that wants to grapple with the concept of evil in terms of; well what is it?

Were we to eschew theological or supernatural account - why despite living in a secular age, some of us insist on category of ‘evil’? Certain acts or actors are just that, ‘evil’.

What are the knowledge basics for a diaspora communities? Rural or urban.

For all; kids and adults, for men and women.

1. Teaching Quran from reading to tajweed
2. Basic essential knowledge; fiqh, Riyadh AlSaliheen, tafseer etc, in English
3. Reminders for all, in English
/1 Then
4. Teaching Arabic
5. basic to intermediate Arabic texts, much smaller circle.

Every community must have these basics. Not talking about research or ifta.
/2

15 Myths of Neo-classicism

The following are crude myths, or tropes, that perhaps few traditional scholars accept in their entirety. They do circulate freely amongst the laity, and are assumed and mentioned explicitly in umpteen talks by scholars in neo-classical circles. /1 1. Salafism arose from egotism
2. ⁠Salafism is a form of Protestantism
3. ⁠Salafi tradition is not repository of serious scholarship /2

Quite a few are quick to say: "Salafism is Islam's protestantism."

Sometime explicitly mentioned in academic literature, almost taken for granted amongst others.
Whether this a pejorative depends on one's appreciation of Islamic tradition, and Catholic Church. Yes certainly there are elements, but then that perhaps misses a broader question.

'Why did modernity make protestantism the way it did?, and did these same processes do the same for Islam?

This is all very strange. These are people putting names which is good, because anonymous critics doesn’t really solve anything.

But there are real questions re the nature of criticisms and critics.

Some thoughts.

https://twitter.com/MuslimMatters/status/1533750855496876032

1. ‘Only once you’ve exhausted all channels of redress.’

Does that mean you still accept the institutions and you only do this begrudgingly? I mean - you seem to want to cake and eat it.

Started Henri Lauziere - The Making of Salafism.

Book has been highly praised, and am so far pretty impressed. ‘… the idea that the same term played an equivalent conceptual role in the realm of the law and served to denote an originalist (e.g., non-madhhab) legal stance is empirically far-fetched.’

Being very argumentative, I tend to disagree with @DrUsaama (alot!), but I love this essay - and especially the tone and respect in which it was written.

Some thoughts to follow.

https://twitter.com/MuslimMatters/status/1477095670439985156

Now I’m late to this having been on a Twitter hiatus - and I’m sure there was a Twitter ding-dong when it first came out. I just want to highlight the points on neo-traditionalism and ijaza asaanid if only to repeat and give my two pence.