Encyclopedia of Islam

Arkoun, Muhammad

  

61  J

---

of governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies 

in London, professor emeritus of the history of 

Islamic thought at the Sorbonne University in 

Paris, former director of the Institute of Arab and 

Islamic Studies there, and editor in chief of the 

French scholarly journal Arabica. He has taught 

as a visiting professor at several universities in 

North America and Europe and has earned some 

of the most prestigious awards in the humanities 

and Islamic studies.

Arkoun is skeptical about the traditional for-

mulations of Islamic institutions, doctrine, and 

practice throughout history. He believes that 

Islamic authorities’ fear of societal chaos and their 

desire for order and obedience helped determine 

the establishment of Islamic law, thought, and 

theology

. According to him, Muslims must free 

themselves from the oppressive constraints of 

“orthodox” Islam and work in partnership with 

members of other religions in creating a world 

that is rooted in peace, equality, mutual under-

standing, and intellectual vigor. In such a world, 

there would be no borders and no core, no side-

lined groups and no superior ones. A transformed 

and open-ended Islam would become the basis for 

societies where people would seek to understand 

one another without permitting dogma, ethnic, 

linguistic, or other differences to block their con-

tinued cooperation.

For Arkoun, one way that the powerful sway 

of Muslim orthodoxy or orthodoxies can be less-

ened is by means of the creation of a new academic 

discipline that he calls “applied Islamology.” This 

discipline would be devoted to analyzing and 

criticizing the ideas and institutions within Islam 

that have perpetuated discrimination, oppression, 

and marginalization.

Arkoun’s novel and dynamic approach to 

Islam is also evident in his methodology with 

respect to the q

Uran

. The supreme and perfect 

message of the Quran as a revealed sacred text is a 

central tenet of Islamic doctrine, and this is one of 

the ideas that Arkoun criticizes. He believes that 

the question of whether the Quran was revealed 

should be suspended pending further academic 

inquiry, while he contends there is a vigorous 

Quranic intention. For him, this sacred text does 

not impose definitive solutions to the practical 

problems of human existence. It has the capacity 

to generate within humans a regard for themselves, 

the world, and the symbols that could potentially 

provide them with a sense of meaning.

While Arkoun’s ideas are thought provoking, 

their full impact outside scholarly circles remains 

to be seen. One of the main questions that liberal 

Muslims such as Arkoun face is the extent to 

which their ideas may become institutionalized and 

accepted by the Muslim masses who are not neces-

sarily influenced by intellectual trends in Western 

colleges and universities. Nevertheless, Arkoun’s 

life and work will continue to be a tremendous 

force within Islamic studies for many more years.

See also 

edUcation

.

Jon Armajani