Rashid Rida and the Theory of the Caliphate: Medieval Themes and Modern Concerns

Description

This dissertation is a study of Rashid Rida's thought and activities in relation to the caliphate. It discusses Rida's thought within the social, cultural, and political context of his time, especially the increasing Western influence in th e Middle East. The dissertation traces the origins of Rida's ideas to medieval M uslim jurists through the salafiyya reformers of the nineteenth century to whom Rida belonged and finally to Rida's own contributions. It analyzes Rida's attemp ts to introduce into Islamic thought three themes to adapt and preserve the Isla mic caliphate in a period of rapid change catalyzed by the West: an Islamic reli gious revival and the establishment of a spiritual caliphate not advocated previ ously except by Ibn Khaldun as this dissertation is the first study to reveal; t he need for the political independence of Islam, especially in the core regions of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine; and the promotion of a dem ocratic consultative system of government under a modernized shari'a The Study d raws on previously undisclosed correspondence between Rida and the British colon ial authorities during World War I. It also is based on a comprehensive reading of Rida's journal, al-Manar, published in Cairo between 1898 and 1935. While oth er studies of Rida have concentrated in his 1922-1923 treatise al-Khilafa aw al- Imama al-'Uzma (The Caliphate or the Grand Imamate) in which he called for a spi ritual caliphate to replace the then-defunct Ottoman caliphate, this study trace s the development of his thought in the twenty-five years prior as well. It show s that on the social plane Rida was primarily catering to the interests of the W est and the Westernized section of the Middle Eastern society, a fact which expl ains why his approach remained elitist and developed no popular following. On th e political plane, however, Rida abandoned any effort to cooperate with the West after World War I when the Europeans controlled the core Arab Islamic regions w hich he considered essential to save the political independence of Islam.