The Muslim Mind on Trial Divine Revelation vs. Secular Rationalism by Abdessalam Yassine; tr. Muhtar Holland (Iowa City: Justice and Spirituality Publishing, 2003. 98 pages.)

Abstract

Abdessalam Yassine, a Moroccan Qur’anic scholar, passionately argues
that Muslims need to return to the Qur’anic revelation and the prophetic
method of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in order to resurrect the Muslim
mind and worldview, which are currently subjugated to secular western
thought. According to Yassine, the book’s purpose “is the establishment
and reminding of the Prophetic Method” (p. 25). This argument is made
in the format of an introduction and 37 subject variants (ranging in length
from a few paragraphs to seven pages).
Yassine juxtaposes the Muslim mind with that of the secular materialistic
western mind, where the latter is shown to be deficient while the
former, based on and nourished by revelation and the Sunnah, is considered
to be truly emancipatory. He states: “When discussing the choice
between two minds and two mentalities we have only two options: Either
the sovereignty of the Revelation, pure and simple … Or the sovereignty of the arena, which occupied the other mind with its materialism, racialism
and vagueness of its goals” (p. 9).
Throughout the book, Yassine provides some insights into Islamic
spiritual practice and critiques mainstream western thought. Interestingly,
his essay “Ritual Purity” eloquently points out the importance of situating
the body in Islamic spirituality and how its purification is interconnected
with inner spiritual growth. In addition, he does not romanticize
the current Muslim ummah and shift all blame to the West; rather, he critiques
the ummah for being coopted by western materialism.
However, I had numerous problems with this book, beginning with its
premise. In an age of pluralistic societies, it is very hard to digest a discussion
where one does not acknowledge that a pure “western mind” or a
“Muslim mind” does not exist, because this assumption fails to acknowledge
the difference and diversity among interpretations of text and ideas.
Yassine employs the dominant discourses in both western and Islamic
thought in order to forward his argument, which, in turn, leads to essentialism.
Knowledge production is dynamic, and constructing such a binary
framework perpetuates the idea that knowledge is static and fixed to a certain
context, which only bolsters stereotypes ...