Geneology of political crises in early Islam<\/p>\n
Hatim Gazali, Contributor\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The Crisis of Muslim History: Roots of Political Crisis in Muslim
\nHistory<\/p>\n
Mahmoud M. Ayoub<\/p>\n
Mizan<\/p>\n
262 pp<\/p>\n
In the course of Indonesian history, the political relationship
\nbetween Islam and the state has not always been one of harmony.<\/p>\n
This relationship has even shown a tendency to antagonism,
\napart from being one that is fraught with mutual suspicion. One
\nof the reasons for this disharmony is a fundamental difference in
\nan understanding about Islam.<\/p>\n
For one group, Islam is the national foundation because it is
\nholistic in nature and also because it is the chosen faith of the
\nmajority of Indonesians. This group understands the holistic
\nnature of Islam organically, in the sense that legally and
\nformally, Islam must be present in every aspect of their lives.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, to the other group, it is Pancasila -- the five-
\npoint national ideology -- that must be the foundation of the
\nstate, in view of the pluralistic nature of the Indonesian social
\nconstruct. This group believes that Islam is indeed holistic in
\nnature but, to them, making it the national foundation shows a
\nlack of wisdom in viewing the pluralism of the social, cultural
\nand religious aspects of the Indonesian people. This group tends
\nto interpret the holistic nature of Islam substantially, in the
\nsense that Islam need not be built into a legal and formal
\nsystem, but still, its substance and essence must be present in
\nevery aspect of life.<\/p>\n
The root of this debate is the understanding of Islam and
\npolitics -- or the state. Some people place religion and politics
\nas a single unit while to others, these must be viewed as
\nseparate elements. The focus of this debate is whether Prophet
\nMuhammad actually established a foundation for political Islam or
\nwhether he only established religious principles without any
\nintention of building an Islamic state.<\/p>\n
This debate is an ongoing one, even today, and its import is
\nsuch that it requires further discussion. Ayoub's The Crisis of
\nMuslim History gives a fresh interpretation of the political
\nhistory of Islam during the period of Muhammad and khulafa' al-
\nrasyidin -- the four leaders who followed Muhammad.<\/p>\n
According to Ayoub, when the prophet died, he did not leave a
\na model or an apparatus of political order as a legacy for
\nMuslims. His legacy was only the Koran and Sunna, both of which
\nserve as the main references on how to set up the socio-political
\norder of an Islamic community.<\/p>\n
Historians usually view past events, particularly Islamic
\nhistory, from a peripheral and central perspective.<\/p>\n
In Crisis, Ayoub, a professor of Comparative Religious Studies
\nat Temple University in the United States, analyses the history
\nof Muslims from a central stance.<\/p>\n
From a peripheral viewpoint, the history of Islam is focused
\non individuals or small social groups spread across a vast
\nterritory and are not well integrated. They spoke different
\ntongues and developed into a mixed legacy of social, cultural and
\nreligious traditions. This history of Islam as viewed from "the
\nedge" provides an explanation about non-Arabic Muslims;
\ntherefore, "the edge" or peripheral perspective cannot lend
\ngeographical significance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a central perspective provides a narration of the
\nhistory of Islam starting with the lives of the Arabs -- or
\nMiddle Eastern communities -- the history of Muhammad and
\nkhulafa' al-rasyidin. The direction of this historical
\nperspective tends to be Arabic-oriented or overly Middle Eastern-
\noriented; it is obviously politically oriented. History books
\nthat analyze Islamic history from this perspective are numerous,
\nincluding Crisis.<\/p>\n
The history of Muslims, which is marked with many changes and
\nups-and-downs, actually did not start until the demise of Prophet
\nMuhammad. This period was marked with a series of political and
\nreligious experiments to build an actual Islamic territory (Dar
\nel-Islam) upon the foundations that the prophet himself had laid.
\nThese historical Muslims, who were still unstable and developing,
\nbegan with the emergence of four khulafa' al-rasyidin, whose
\ndeeds and conduct are the focus of this book.<\/p>\n
Crisis offers a fresh interpretation of the most crucial
\nperiod in the history of Islam. Through an extensive study of
\nprimary library sources, both from the Sunni and Shiite sects,
\nthe author attempts to unravel and interpret important events,
\nkey figures and structural conditions that served as the backdrop
\nfor various events that eventually led to a leadership crisis and
\nthe schism among Muslims into its two great Islamic schools.<\/p>\n
Ayoub highlights two things as important characteristics of
\nthe history of Muslims, particularly as regards khulafa' al-
\nrasyidin: First, an institutional crisis combined with a
\nsuccession crisis -- the transition of power in every leadership
\nof the chalifat, or caliph; and second, a crisis in the process
\nof succession in connection with the syura -- an advisory council
\n-- the implementation of which was a failure.<\/p>\n
Ayoub studies these two political crises in the early period
\nof Islamic administration in light of the stories as told by the
\nProphet's friends.<\/p>\n
He carefully and intelligently uses and examines sources of
\nearly Islamic history to obtain and reveal historical reliable
\nand academically accountable facts.<\/p>\n
A close reading of the book will reveal that the author offers
\nan interpretation from the center-out: Ayoub describes in great
\ndetail the history of Islam in its infancy, particularly in the
\npost-Prophet Muhammad period. He focuses his discussion on a
\nbrief critical review and study of the political, social and
\nreligious crises in the period of khulafa' al-rasyidin, namely
\nAbu Bakar al-Shiddiq, Umar bin Khattah, Ustman and Ali.<\/p>\n
The reviewer is a researcher at the Community for Religion and
\nSocial Engineering (CRSE), Yogyakarta.<\/p>",
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