The Great Theft Wrestling Islam from the Extremists by Khaled Abou El Fadl (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. 310 pages.)

Abstract

Written creeds, which always come much later than the original revelation,
invariably seek to define theological “orthodoxy” over and against the perceived
heresies of competing sects. Thus, in Islam, the Fiqh Akbar I stood
against the Kharajites, the Wasiyat Abu Hanifah against the Qadarites and
the first Mu`tazilites, and the Fiqh Akbar II against the later Mu`tazilites.
Later on, such theological treatises as al-Ash`ari’s Al-Ibanah and `Abd al-
Qahir al-Baghdadi’s Kitab Usul al-Din appeared.
In The Great Theft, Khaled Abou El Fadl revives this tradition by stating
that in the wake of numerous “acts of ugliness” committed by Muslims,
the ummah has reached a grave theological crossroads. Muslims are now
divided along a spectrum between two extremes. Fundamentally, this schism
is one between “moderates” (the extreme being defined by those most willing
to reinterpret the Islamic tradition in the light of contemporary realities)
and “puritans,” who, on the basis of a selective reading of Islam’s strictest
school of law (Hanbali), claim that 90 percent of human affairs are already
covered by God’s law (the Shari`ah). At the heart of these diametrically
opposed worldviews, he claims, is a theological decision regarding creation
and the Shari`ah’s meaning.
Significantly, the book’s first part is devoted to an analysis of the present
crisis. In the first chapter (“Islam Torn between Extremism and
Moderation”), Abou El Fadl describes the split that divides the Islamic community
and helpfully defines the terms moderate (as opposed to modernist,
progressive, or reformist) and puritan (not fundamentalist, militant, extremist,
radical, or jihadist). From the beginning, he lays aside the common
Muslim objections in the face of suicide bombings or beheadings: “the problem
is with Muslims, not Islam per se.” Unfortunately, he argues, all sides
claim that they are following the precepts of Islam. What is needed is a ...