Since the early twentieth century, Muslim reformers have been campaigning for a total transformation of the ways in which Islam is imagined in the Malay world. One of the most influential is the author Haji Abdul Malik bin Abdul Karim Amrullah, commonly known as Hamka.

In Hamka and Islam, Khairudin Aljunied employs the term "cosmopolitan reform" to describe Hamka's attempt to harmonize the many streams of Islamic and Western thought while posing solutions to the various challenges facing Muslims. Among the major themes Aljunied explores are reason and revelation, moderation and extremism, social justice, the state of women in society, and Sufism in the modern age, as well as the importance of history in reforming the minds of modern Muslims.Aljunied argues that Hamka demonstrated intellectual openness and inclusiveness toward a whole range of thoughts and philosophies to develop his own vocabulary of reform, attesting to Hamka's unique ability to function as a conduit for competing Islamic and secular groups.

Hamka and Islam pushes the boundaries of the expanding literature on Muslim reformism and reformist thinkers by grounding its analysis within the Malay experience and by using the concept of cosmopolitan reform in a new context.

About the Author

Khairudin Aljunied is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. He was Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia (2017-2018) and is Senior Fellow at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.

Reviews

Khairudin Aljunied makes a significant contribution to the study of the Islamic thought of the Muslim author and thinker from South East Asia, Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (1908-1981), better known by the acronym Hamka. His book provides a systematic and thorough study of Hamka's thoughts and designates him an Islamic 'cosmopolitan reformer'. This is a book that scholars in Islamic studies and social and human sciences have been awaiting. It provides a breath of fresh air and is a must-read book on the subject. It should be read by students in general and Muslims around the world, both in the Islamic world and where they live as minority populations

-- Ayang Utriza Yakin, Ghent University * South East Asia Research *



Book Information
ISBN 9781501724572
Author Khairudin Aljunied
Format Paperback
Page Count 162
Imprint Southeast Asia Program Publications, Cornell University
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 11mm