Naṣr Abū Zayd. A Critical Rereading of Islamic Thought
This book is a very valuable work to all fields of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Although almost all Arabists have probably heard of
Naṣr Abū Zayd, there has so far been no comprehensive monograph of his biography and thought. Hence, I consider the book by Dr Michał Moch to be a work that is pioneering in science not only in Poland, but also, one might say, globally. Such terms are often used, but usually to talk about niche issues. But ‘niche’ is certainly not how one would describe the output of a thinker of Naṣr Abū Zayd’s calibre, making my statement all the more significant.
AUTHOR’S NOTE 9
1. Nasr Abu Zayd – LIFE AND HERITAGE 17
1.1. Roots and Early Years 17
1.2. Start of Research and Academic Career 19
1.3. “The Exile Period” – Outside of Egypt 20
1.4. Academic Career of Abu Zayd and His Written Heritage 22
1.4.1. Academic Career of Abu Zayd 22
1.4.2. Diversity of Topics in Abu Zayd’s Works 25
2. SITUATING Nasr Abu Zayd. PREDECESSORS, INFLUENCES, INTELLECTUAL RELATIONS 28
2.1. Egyptian and Arab Predecessors of Nasr Abu Zayd 29
2.2. Muhammad Arkoun (Musammad Arkun; 1928–2010) 33
2.3. Hasan Hanafi (born 1935) 37
2.4. Sadiq Jalal al-‘Azm (1934-2016) 41
3. THE CASE OF Abu Zayd (1992–1995). FACTS, JUDICIAL PROCEDURES, FURTHER IMPLICATIONS 45
3.1. The Context and Timing of the “Case of Abu Zayd”. Shahin’s Report 46
3.2. The Legal Aspects of the “Case of Abu Zayd” 50
3.3. The Impact of “Abu Zayd’s Case” after 1995 53
3.3.1. The New Hisba law 53
3.3.2. Evolution of the Perception of Abu Zayd’s Works and Personality in Egypt and in the Eyes of Egyptians and other Arabs 56
4. THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY OF Nasr Abu Zayd. AN APPROACH TO HERMENEUTICS 62
4.1. The Diversity of Interpretations and Religious Meanings 62
4.2. Revelation as an Act of Communication – The “Humanistic” and Semiotic Aspect 64
4.3. The Other Aspects of the Hermeneutical Reading of Qur’an. Ta’wil, Contextualisation, Ma‘na and Maghza 66
4.4. Historicity (ta’rikhiyya) in Abu Zayd’s works 70
5. ON THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS RENEWAL AND QUESTION OF WOMEN IN ISLAM 78
5.1. The Nature of Religious Renewal 78
5.2. Renewal of Islamic Tradition vs. European Postsecularism 80
5.3. The Question of Women in Islam According to Abu Zayd 85
6. Nasr Abu Zayd ON POLITiCS AND IDENTITY 97
6.1. Nasr Abu Zayd on the Nature of Arab and Muslim Identity – New Sources 97
6.2. Political Positions 100
6.3. Abu Zayd on the West and Israel 103
7. Nasr Abu Zayd IN THE EYES OF THOSE WHO WERE CLOSE TO HIM. BIOGRAPHICAL INTERVIEWS 106
8. CONCLUSIONS 113
BIBLIOGRAPHY 116