Islam and the Baha'i Faith: A Comparative Study of Muhammad 'Abduh and 'Abdul-Baha 'Abbas (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)

Scharbrodt, Oliver

ISBN 10: 0415664039 / ISBN 13: 9780415664035

Published by Routledge, 2011

About this Item

Num Pages: 256 pages, 7 black & white illustrations, 6 black & white halftones, 1 black & white line drawings. BIC Classification: HRAC; HRH. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly. Dimension: 234 x 156 x 13. Weight in Grams: 371. . 2011. 1st Edition. paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780415664035

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Islam and the Baha'i Faith: A Comparative Study of Muhammad 'Abduh and 'Abdul-Baha 'Abbas (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415664039
• ISBN 13: 9780415664035
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Muhammad ‘Abduh (1849-1905) was one of the key thinkers and reformers of modern Islam who has influenced both liberal and fundamentalist Muslims today. ‘Abdul-Baha (1844-1921) was the son of Baha’ullah (1817-1892), the founder of the Baha’i Faith; a new religion which began as a messianic movement in Shii Islam, before it departed from Islam.

Oliver Scharbrodt offers an innovative and radically new perspective on the lives of these two major religious reformers in 19th century Middle East by placing both figures into unfamiliar terrain. While one would classify ‘Abdul-Baha, leader of a messianic movement which claims to depart from Islam, as an exponent of heresy in Islam, ‘Abduh is perceived as an orthodox Sunni reformer. This book, however, argues against the assumption that both represent two extremely opposite expressions of Islamic religiosity. It shows that both were influenced by similar intellectual and religious traditions of Islam and that both participated in the same discussions on the reform of Islam in the 19th century.

Islam and the Baha'i Faith provides new insights into the Islamic background of the Baha’i Faith and into ‘Abduh’s own association with so-called heretical movements in Islam.

About the Author

Oliver Scharbrodt is Lecturer in the Study of Religions at University College Cork, Ireland. His research interests lie in the study of modern Islam and of Iranian Shiism and Sufism.