Sunday's Read: Islamic Reformism and Christianity

Ryad, Umar. Islamic Reformism and Christianity: A Critical Reading of the Works of Muhammad Rashid Rida and his Associates (1898-1935) (Leiden: Brill, 2009)

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This fascinating and engaging read, the expanded version of Ryad's doctoral dissertation, is a novel approach to an important, largely unexplored topic. Ryad examines late nineteenth-century Christian missionary work and tractates in the Middle East from the perspective of the Muslims who were the focus of their proselytizing efforts. He chooses devout Muslim and prolific thinker Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935), the student and disciple of Muhammad Abduh, as his primary subject. Rida is an interesting choice because of his tireless production of anti-Christian polemics (i.e., against conversion to Christianity and against the notion of Christianity as a superior system of thought compared with Islam). 

Indeed, Rida has been described by Albert Hourani as belonging "to the last generation of those who could be fully educated and yet alive in a self-sufficient world of Islamic thought" (Arab Thought, 83). He was, moreover, unusual in his generation of intellectuals in that, unlike his mentors Abduh and Al-Afghani, he did not speak any European languages. He gained his information about Christianity through frequenting the bookshops of Christian missionaries and speaking with European and American missionaries and intellectuals, as well as reading the well-known Christian-produced Arabic periodicals such as Al-Muqtataf (1876-1927, founded by Gurgi Zaydan). 

Ryad highlights something of significance for general religious thought about Christianity throughout the globe at this time: "Higher Biblical Criticism, which emerged in European universities in the late 19th century, had a great deal of influence on Muslim apologetic literature on Christianity" (23).  The backlash against Higher Criticism - which was instrumental in the rise of fundamentalist, non-denominational, and evangelical communities in the United States - is a key component in Rida's criticism.