Freedom of thought and despotism in Islamic history

حرية الفكر والاستبداد في تاريخ الإسلام

In his preface Arslan offers an overall thesis: an early age of free reasoning and ijtihad, followed by a shift from consultative caliphate to despotic rule, which narrowed free thought and gave tradition the upper hand over reason. He says the Mu'tazila began as a free-thinking school, and that Umayyad rulers who first favoured them turned against them once they acquired political weight. He treats the later dominance of traditionalists as part of this long decline. This is the preface's thesis, which needs checking against histories of theology and politics and is not accepted by all historians.

Overview

In the introduction to his book, Shakib Arslan presents a general view of the history of Islam. This is the author's thesis. It needs to be compared with works on the history of theology and politics, and not all historians accept it. ¹

The thesis

Arslan sees an early age, governed by independent reasoning (ijtihad) and intellectual freedom. Then the caliphate turned from consultation into despotism, so intellectual freedom receded, and transmission and imitation came to prevail over reason. ¹

He says that the Mu'tazila arose in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom, but when they acquired a political influence some Umayyad caliphs feared them and fought them. He then says that the people of the Sunna and transmission later prevailed, and he counts this shift as part of the history of despotism in the East. ¹

What needs checking

The source of the information is a single one. The author's claim that the Umayyads fought the Mu'tazila for political reasons needs a further modern source.

Freedom of thought and despotism in Islamic history

At a glance

Overview

The thesis

What needs checking

Sources

Ideas