Review
Original Review Date: 2/28/2014
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Title: Religious Knowledge, Authority, and Charisma
Author/Editor: Daphna Ephrat and Meir Hatina
Publisher: University of Utah Press
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 327
Binding: Hardback
ISBN10: n/a
ISBN13: 978-1-60781-278-4
Price: $45.00
Reviewed by Diana Fordham for the Association for Mormon Letters
Review date: 2/28/2014
“Religious Knowledge, Authority, and Charisma” is a source of scholarship that focuses on the authoritative tradition of Islamic knowledge and leadership. Several academic contributors have written articles (comprising the chapters in the book) that address the historical context of the formative era of Islam, to include comparisons to their Jewish counterparts.
Contributors include:
Camilla Adang, Tel Aviv University
Eli Alshech, Hebrew University
Muhammad al-Atawneh, Ben Gurion University
Meir Ben Shahar, Hebrew University and Yad Ben Zvi Institute
Jonathan P. Berkey, Davidson College, North Carolina
Gerald J. Blidstein, Ben Gurion University
Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College
Maribel Fierro, Centre of Human and Social Sciences, Higher Council for Scientific Research, Spain
Haim Gertner, Yad Vashem Institute
Nimrod Hurvitz, Ben Gurion University
Ehud Krinis, Center for Advanced Jewish Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Nissim Leon, Bar-Ilan University
Meir Litvak, Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, Tel Aviv University
Ksenia Svetlova, Hebrew University
Itzchak Weismann, Jewish-Arab Center, University of Haifa
Michael Winter, Tel Aviv University
The book is divided into three parts, each addressing a major phase of the development of religious and spiritual authority within Middle Eastern religion. Authors of the individual chapters offer academic acumen in examining the historical development of religious knowledge, authority, and charisma from the formative period of Islam to the modern era.
Part I deals with the development and history of authority. Hurvitz (the author of the first chapter) defines authority in two ways: scholarly and non-scholarly. Islam embraces the idea that authority resides exclusively with God and His revelation is conveyed to humankind through a special human being (p. 30). This chain of authority began with Mohammad. Throughout early Islamic history this responsibility was relegated to scholars (those who applied a correct methodology to understand God’s message without subtracting or adding to it). Over time, believers began to look to the ascetics and religious activists (non-scholars) as the ones who had authority because they protected Islamic society from moral deterioration (pg. 47). In the modern era we observe leaders of Islamic movements (Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida) as leaders who emerge because they are the “protectors” of a select society within Islam. Subsequent chapters authored by Adan and Krinis further explore the development of authority and offer examples of such leadership. On a comparative note, Blidstein concludes Part I with a chapter on the Oral Torah. He distinguishes between written scripture and oral law to define the development of scholarly authority within Judaism.
Part II examines the role of military and empire building within Islamic history. Ephrat, Winter, and Shahar contribute to this body of scholarship by explaining the development of the construction of the office of the caliph, and the schism between Sunni and Shi’i Islam. Both sects developed their own religious authority. Their chapters remind the reader that religious authority is closely linked with political power within the Islamic world. Historical insight emphasizes that the failure of early Islamic societies to define what constitutes “authority” has led to contention, encroachment, and war. These chapters comprise the middle period of Islamic history and explore the relationship between Sufism and authority; specific attention is given to the rise of military regimes and the building of empires during this time period.
The last seven chapters constitute Part III of the book. It is important to note that the understanding of the history of scholarship and authority in Islamic society is imperative to understand the role that Muslim societies play in the globalized world. The authors of five of the last seven chapters; Alsheck, Hatina, Svetlova, Litvak, and al-Atawneh, do an outstanding job of synthesizing the history of scholarly authority with modern-day Islamic leadership. Hatina’s contribution offers insight to the characteristics of modern-day jihad, which includes religious martyrdom. In light of the scholarship offered in previous chapters on authority and leadership, he examines the attacks of 9/11 and Chechnya in the light of men like bin Ladin who are seen by some in the Islamic world as preachers who call upon others to return to the true path of Islam. By examining the discursive aspect of jihad, Hatina adds clarity on the non-scholarly attributes of leadership. The last part of the book is also very helpful in trying to understand the philosophical differences between Islam and the west. The last two chapters by Gertner and Leon offer a parallel Jewish perspective on leadership in modern times. This comparison also adds to the understanding of the current-day conflict between countries in the Middle East where Islam and Judaism define beliefs and understanding of the “chosen” followers of God.
“Religious Knowledge, Authority, and Charisma” offers exceptional insight to the historical development of knowledge and power within the religions of the Middle East. The scholarship offered by the individual authors explains the present-day tensions that exist, not only between Judaism and Islam, but within the different sects of Islam as well.