Middle Eastern religious reform movements

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Intense competition exists among Muslims in Britain today about what counts as the most authentic and authoritative interpretation and practice of Islam. Religious reform movements that have their origins in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Arabia and South Asia, each of which claims to reflect an authentic and correct expression of Islam in the contemporary world, now influence some young British Muslims. Many of the historic debates about religious authority and authenticity that have taken place in Muslim majority countries are now taking place in Britain. The questions are simple, but profound: ‘Who speaks for Islam here? ’ ‘What is the most authentic way of being a Muslim in Britain today ?’ Religious movements with origins in the Middle East have made particularly strong claims to be interpreting and practising Islam in a way that reflects most closely the supposed purity and authenticity of Islamic belief and practice in the Prophetic era. These Middle Eastern movements, and the implications of their efforts to return to the roots of Islam within the context of contemporary Britain, are the focus of this chapter. Movements which trace their origins to South Asia are considered in the next chapter. But what both Middle Eastern and South Asian reform movements have shared in common throughout their history is a spirit of revival, and an effort to restore and reinvigorate a self-assertive form of Islam.