Muhammad Sa'id al-'Ashmawi
Encyclopedia
Muhammad Sa'id al-'Ashmawi (1932- ) is a retired Egyptian Supreme Court justice and former head of the Court of State Security and a specialist in comparative and Islamic law at Cairo University
. He has been described as "one of the most influential liberal Islamic thinkers today," who "has had to rely on round-the-clock police protection due to death threats from Egyptian militants."
Born in 1932, Ashmawi graduated from Cairo University's law school in 1954 and became assistant district attorney and then district attorney in Alexandria
. He was appointed a judge in 1961 and rose to become chief justice of the High Court, the High Criminal Court and the High Court for State Security. He is trained in usul al-din
, sharia
and comparative law and did formal legal study at Harvard Law School
and elsewhere in the United States in 1978. He retired from the bench in July 1993.
Ashmawi believes Islamism
or political Islam is at odds with true Islam or "enlightened Islam"; application of the sharia (tatbiq al-sharia or taqnin al-sharia) are in reality empty slogans, extremely vague in substance; present Egyptian law is consistent with Sharia; civil or madani government is the proper kind of government in Islam; while religious government in Islam has been a disaster in the past.
He is said to be involved in the debate over to what degree Islam can really be `a complete way of life` and "the degree and manner in which foreign moral and ideological ideas can be adopted."
One difference 'Ashmawi has had with Islamists like Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
and Sayyid Qutb
is whether the word Sharia
as used in the Quran refers to one uniform "path" or "way" for everyone to obey.
'Ashmawi argues that the idea that Sharia is the core of Muslim jurisprudence, its various commentaries and interpretations, only came later in Islamic history. This jurisprudence is "entirely man-made, written by Muslim scholars according to their various schools, based on their best understanding of how the Qur'an should be translated into codes of law."
Al-`Ashmawi believes that instead of referring to legal rules, the term Sharia as used in the Qur'an, refers to "the path of Islam" which consists "of three streams:
Fiqh
is thus not fixed and "must be reinterpreted anew" by scholars in every age in accordance with their understanding.
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
. He has been described as "one of the most influential liberal Islamic thinkers today," who "has had to rely on round-the-clock police protection due to death threats from Egyptian militants."
Born in 1932, Ashmawi graduated from Cairo University's law school in 1954 and became assistant district attorney and then district attorney in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. He was appointed a judge in 1961 and rose to become chief justice of the High Court, the High Criminal Court and the High Court for State Security. He is trained in usul al-din
Usul al-din
Usul al-dín is an Arabic Islamic term which literally translates as 'foundation of the faith', roughly interpretable as 'theology'. For Shi'a Twelvers the term has a specific meaning ....
, sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and comparative law and did formal legal study at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and elsewhere in the United States in 1978. He retired from the bench in July 1993.
Ashmawi believes Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
or political Islam is at odds with true Islam or "enlightened Islam"; application of the sharia (tatbiq al-sharia or taqnin al-sharia) are in reality empty slogans, extremely vague in substance; present Egyptian law is consistent with Sharia; civil or madani government is the proper kind of government in Islam; while religious government in Islam has been a disaster in the past.
He is said to be involved in the debate over to what degree Islam can really be `a complete way of life` and "the degree and manner in which foreign moral and ideological ideas can be adopted."
One difference 'Ashmawi has had with Islamists like Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
and Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
is whether the word Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
as used in the Quran refers to one uniform "path" or "way" for everyone to obey.
'Ashmawi argues that the idea that Sharia is the core of Muslim jurisprudence, its various commentaries and interpretations, only came later in Islamic history. This jurisprudence is "entirely man-made, written by Muslim scholars according to their various schools, based on their best understanding of how the Qur'an should be translated into codes of law."
Al-`Ashmawi believes that instead of referring to legal rules, the term Sharia as used in the Qur'an, refers to "the path of Islam" which consists "of three streams:
- worship,
- ethical code,
- social intercourse."
Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
is thus not fixed and "must be reinterpreted anew" by scholars in every age in accordance with their understanding.
See also
- IslamismIslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
- Liberal movements within IslamLiberal movements within IslamProgressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...
- Criticism of IslamismCriticism of IslamismCriticism of Islamism concerns critique of those beliefs or notions ascribed to Islamism or Islamist movements. Such criticisms focus on the role of Islam in legislation, the relationship between Islamism and freedom of expression and the rights of women.Among those authors and scholars who have...
- Rifa'a el-TahtawiRifa'a el-TahtawiRifa'a al-Tahtawi was an Egyptian writer, teacher, translator, Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual...
- Jamal-al-Din Afghani
- Muhammad AbduhMuhammad AbduhMuhammad Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism...
- Qasim AminQasim AminQasim Amin born on 1 December 1863 Alexandria died April 22, 1908 Cairo was an Egyptian jurist and one of the founders of the Egyptian national movement and Cairo University. Qasim Amin was considered by many as the Arab world’s “first feminist”...
- Gamal al-BannaGamal al-BannaGamal al-Banna is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, author, and trade unionist. He is the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna , the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood...
- Farag FodaFarag FodaFarag Foda , also Faraj Fawda, was an important Egyptian thinker, human rights activist, writer, and columnist.Based in Cairo, he was noted for his critical articles and sharp satires about Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt. In many newspaper articles, he demonstrated weak points in Islamic ideology...
- Ahmed Subhy MansourAhmed Subhy MansourSheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour , born March 1, 1949, in Abu Harair, Kafr Saqr, Sharqia, Egypt is an Egyptian-born noted Islamic scholar and cleric, with expertise in Islamic history, culture, theology, and politics...
- Maged Salah Al-din
Further reading
- Ashmawi, Against Islamic Extremism, (1998), p.l91
- William E. Shepard, "Muhammad Sa'id al-Ashmawi and the Application of the Sharia in Egypt," International Journal of Middle East Studies, v.28, 1996 p. 39-58
- Ibrahim Rabbani, "The Political Thought of Muhammad Said al-Ashmawi", M.A. Thesis, (2010)