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Islam and the Arab Revolutions: The Ulama Between Democracy and Autocracy
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 tentative 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 ulama have 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 ulama in the region, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Ali Gomaa and Abdullah bin Bayyah, to explore their role in either championing the Arab revolutions or supporting their repression. He concludes that while a minority of noted scholars have enthusiastically endorsed the counter-revolutions, their approach is attributable less to premodern theology and more to their distinctly modern commitment to the authoritarian state.
Focusing primarily on Egypt, this book considers a relatively understudied dimension of these revolutions: the role of prominent religious scholars. While pro-revolutionary ulama have 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 ulama in the region, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Ali Gomaa and Abdullah bin Bayyah, to explore their role in either championing the Arab revolutions or supporting their repression. He concludes that while a minority of noted scholars have enthusiastically endorsed the counter-revolutions, their approach is attributable less to premodern theology and more to their distinctly modern commitment to the authoritarian state.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2022
As a non-academic, my brain feels rather stretched and mushy after reading this, but basically:
Very smart book, mostly for political Muslamic fiqh nerds, rips apart Sufi scholars for dollars politely, very thoughtful, respectful, principled epilogue, learned a few big words, 5/5 stars
Very smart book, mostly for political Muslamic fiqh nerds, rips apart Sufi scholars for dollars politely, very thoughtful, respectful, principled epilogue, learned a few big words, 5/5 stars
January 3, 2023
As the visuals of the dust jacket would suggest, "Arab Revolutions" in the title might seem to be a bit of a misnomer. There is no plural in the "Revolutions" that would become the anchor of the book. The striking yellow colour, the marked hand gesture imprinted at the bottom, and the prominent figures featured at the top (minus MBZ on the right), all point out to one specific country of the Arab Spring - Egypt.
In Islam and the Arab Revolutions, al-Azami recounts the events that transpired during the Egyptian revolution and the subsequent episodes that unfolded thereafter, covering the military coup, the ouster of Mohamed Morsi and the culmination of it all, the violent Raba'a massacre.
However, this book is not a typical descriptive narration of arguably one of the most pivotal episodes in modern Middle Eastern history. Instead, the author describes all this in a rather unique way, that is through the voices of the ulama. Al-Azami situates his work at the intersection of studies on the Arab revolution and another burgeoning field in the western scholarship, the ulama studies. In his book, he outlines two broad conflicting groups of ulama that played significant roles on both sides of the revolution:
1. Pro-revolutionary, pro-democracy, anti-coup, mostly Islamist ulama: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Hasan al-Shafi'i, Muhammad 'Imara, Ahmad al-Raysuni, Rajab Zaki and 'Ali al-Qaradaghi (mentioned once)
2. Counter-revolutionary, pro-coup, pro-establishment, neo-traditionalist ulama: Ali Gomaa, Ahmad al-Tayyib, Ali al-Jifri, Abdullah bin Bayyah and Hamza Yusuf
It is evident in the book that the author is more inclined to the former over the latter group of ulama; he dedicates his book for the martyrs of the revolutions (إلى شهداء الثورات). Indeed, through the voices of all these ulama that al-Azami manages to capture from public lectures, private military lectures, TV shows and interviews, official statements of their representative institutions as well as social media statements, there definitely are shocking revelations about the justifications made by the pro-establishment ulama for the al-Sisi-led military coup and the massacres of the masses.
The book certainly helps me to further clarify my understanding about the complex dynamics of the influential, internationally recognised ulama hailed from the Arab world (and the west - a rather peculiar position of Hamza Yusuf) (without denying the immense contributions of them all to the ummah). In fact, the author's unique intellectual background trained in both traditional Islamic institution and modern western academia undoubtedly makes this book all the more worthwhile to read.
In Islam and the Arab Revolutions, al-Azami recounts the events that transpired during the Egyptian revolution and the subsequent episodes that unfolded thereafter, covering the military coup, the ouster of Mohamed Morsi and the culmination of it all, the violent Raba'a massacre.
However, this book is not a typical descriptive narration of arguably one of the most pivotal episodes in modern Middle Eastern history. Instead, the author describes all this in a rather unique way, that is through the voices of the ulama. Al-Azami situates his work at the intersection of studies on the Arab revolution and another burgeoning field in the western scholarship, the ulama studies. In his book, he outlines two broad conflicting groups of ulama that played significant roles on both sides of the revolution:
1. Pro-revolutionary, pro-democracy, anti-coup, mostly Islamist ulama: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Hasan al-Shafi'i, Muhammad 'Imara, Ahmad al-Raysuni, Rajab Zaki and 'Ali al-Qaradaghi (mentioned once)
2. Counter-revolutionary, pro-coup, pro-establishment, neo-traditionalist ulama: Ali Gomaa, Ahmad al-Tayyib, Ali al-Jifri, Abdullah bin Bayyah and Hamza Yusuf
It is evident in the book that the author is more inclined to the former over the latter group of ulama; he dedicates his book for the martyrs of the revolutions (إلى شهداء الثورات). Indeed, through the voices of all these ulama that al-Azami manages to capture from public lectures, private military lectures, TV shows and interviews, official statements of their representative institutions as well as social media statements, there definitely are shocking revelations about the justifications made by the pro-establishment ulama for the al-Sisi-led military coup and the massacres of the masses.
The book certainly helps me to further clarify my understanding about the complex dynamics of the influential, internationally recognised ulama hailed from the Arab world (and the west - a rather peculiar position of Hamza Yusuf) (without denying the immense contributions of them all to the ummah). In fact, the author's unique intellectual background trained in both traditional Islamic institution and modern western academia undoubtedly makes this book all the more worthwhile to read.
May 20, 2025
In this book, Al-Azami examines the differences among ulama regarding the Arab Spring in 2011 and its aftermath. Focusing on Egypt, he shows the different views of scholars in the early days of the 2011 Arab Spring, through the election of Morsi, the military coup that deposed him, and the massacres (including Rabaa) committed by Sisi's coup regime subsequently. I appreciated that Al-Azami deeply examined a few scholars (Qaradawi, Ali Gomaa, Jifri, Hamza Yusuf, Tayyib) that represented the three major groups he highlights (Sufis, Salafis, and neotraditionalists) rather than studying several -- it helped me follow them better rather than get lost with trying to remember names. His writing was always very clear and direct, and I found it relatively accessible for an academic book.
Al-Azami walks us through how certain scholars justified or attacked democracy, autocracy, revolution/protest, and the many state massacres against unarmed civilians using their understandings of Islam. Thus he breaks down the debates among ulama about the legality of protest/revolution, the limits of power of the ruler/state, and the ways that power should be wielded. Azami ultimately argues that it was the scholars "often unstated hermeneutic assumptions" that would ultimately be "the deciding factor as to whether they supported the revolutions or counter revolutions."
This is where I am somewhat unconvinced. It seems to be too polite of an argument--it seems to give the scholars too much benefit of the doubt. Let me be clear: Azami politely roasts the (largely counter-revolutionary) scholars who validated and gave permission to the military coup and the subsequent massacres. But I think the book would have been stronger if it more critically considered the career paths of these scholars, the funding/money they were being sponsored by, their friends/associates/personal interests, etc. Azami does consider these factors, but they're not linked strongly enough with the scholars' decisions to support or oppose various political actors. I feel like this should have been more directly addressed because anyone familiar with Arab politics would know the common understanding that some scholars are simply puppets of regimes--that they bend their understandings of Islam to support the regime, and not the other way around. Azami, however, argues that their political affiliations stem from their Islamic understandings--and this is where I find the argument to be too polite and not critical enough.
Nevertheless, I found the book very interesting and insightful. As someone who grew up watching the Arab Spring and its aftermath unfold from an Arab country, I really appreciated this book as it broke down some important debates among the ulama about politics, revolution, rebellion, and governance in a clear and accessible chronological narrative.
Al-Azami walks us through how certain scholars justified or attacked democracy, autocracy, revolution/protest, and the many state massacres against unarmed civilians using their understandings of Islam. Thus he breaks down the debates among ulama about the legality of protest/revolution, the limits of power of the ruler/state, and the ways that power should be wielded. Azami ultimately argues that it was the scholars "often unstated hermeneutic assumptions" that would ultimately be "the deciding factor as to whether they supported the revolutions or counter revolutions."
This is where I am somewhat unconvinced. It seems to be too polite of an argument--it seems to give the scholars too much benefit of the doubt. Let me be clear: Azami politely roasts the (largely counter-revolutionary) scholars who validated and gave permission to the military coup and the subsequent massacres. But I think the book would have been stronger if it more critically considered the career paths of these scholars, the funding/money they were being sponsored by, their friends/associates/personal interests, etc. Azami does consider these factors, but they're not linked strongly enough with the scholars' decisions to support or oppose various political actors. I feel like this should have been more directly addressed because anyone familiar with Arab politics would know the common understanding that some scholars are simply puppets of regimes--that they bend their understandings of Islam to support the regime, and not the other way around. Azami, however, argues that their political affiliations stem from their Islamic understandings--and this is where I find the argument to be too polite and not critical enough.
Nevertheless, I found the book very interesting and insightful. As someone who grew up watching the Arab Spring and its aftermath unfold from an Arab country, I really appreciated this book as it broke down some important debates among the ulama about politics, revolution, rebellion, and governance in a clear and accessible chronological narrative.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews