Introduction

Abstract

Abstract Qursawi’s reformism is conventionally described as rejecting Islamic tradition and ulama authority in favor of secular “enlightenment,” a view that is irretrievably flawed. Addressing this historiography, which connects Qursawi to Jadidism, this chapter argues that it is based on unfounded and anachronistic premises that skew his historical memory and obscure his contributions. Instead, Qursawi must be viewed from within Islamic tradition, and accordingly his thought is approached from the perspective of Islamic intellectual history. This chapter connects research into Qursawi with the literature on contemporary reformism in the 18th-century Islamic world, and it establishes the present study’s theoretical perspective on the Islamic scholarly tradition, viewing it as a discursive tradition operating through institutions, which are shaped by historical circumstances and therefore shape Islamic discourse in turn.