Neo-Mu'tazilites
Modern movement of Mu'tazilite theology
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Neo-Mu'tazilites (Arabic: المعتزلة الجدد) are modern Muslim thinkers and intellectuals inspired by the principles of the classical Mu'tazilite school of theology, which flourished in Basra and Baghdad during the 8th to 10th centuries CE. This movement, known as "Neo-Mu'tazilism", stands in relation to the "renaissance" (Nahda) of the Arab world and to modern Islamic reformism, which opposes Islamic conservatism, taqlid of the earlier generations, and fatalism.[1] Neo-Mu'tazilites emphasise the possibility of freedom in the face of divine omnipotence and rational notions of good and evil.[2]
Like their classical predecessors, Neo-Mu'tazilites emphasize the use of reason ('aql) in interpreting Islamic scripture. Neo-Mu'tazilite understanding of Islamic scripture has included de-emphasising the authoritative value of Islamic tradition, questioning much of the corpus of Hadith as either apocryphal or relevant only to prophet Muhammad's day and age, rejecting the validity of ijma (consensus), and broadening the horizon of ijtihad (independent reasoning).[3][4][5][6][7] Neo-Mu'tazilites also uphold the core historical Mu'tazilite tenet that the Qur'an is God's "created" word.[8][9][10]
In the modern period, Neo-Mu'tazilism has developed in various regions, such as in the Maghreb, Turkey, Iran, France, India, and Indonesia.[5][11][12][13][14][15] Neo-Mu'tazilites form the main composites of the Indo-Pakistan Muslim society today, alongside Barelvis, Deobandis, and Ahl al-Hadith.[16]
Notable individuals
Notable neo-Mu'tazilites have included Syed Ahmad Khan (d. 1898 CE).[5] Syed's reformist program included a rationalist, neo-Mu'tazilite understanding of Islamic scripture, questioning much of the corpus of Hadith as either apocryphal or relevant only to prophet Muhammad's day and age, rejecting the validity of ijma (consensus), broadening the horizon of ijtihad (independent reasoning), and interpreting Biblical scripture from a sympathetic Muslim point of view (see Muslim Hebraism).[5]
Other notable neo-Mu'tazilites have included Ahmad Amin (d. 1954 CE), Harun Nasution (d. 1998 CE), Fazlur Rahman Malik (d. 1988 CE), Abdolkarim Soroush (b. 1945 CE), Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari (b. 1936 CE), Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari (b. 1949 CE), Mohsen Kadivar (b. 1959 CE), and Mostafa Malekian (b. 1956 CE).[17][15][18][13]