Critical-Progressive Muslims: On Islamic hermeneutics, Gender and Interreligious Dialogue

  Why Islamic Thought Needs a Hermeneutical Revolution By Adis Duderija In an age where religious discourse is often reduced to soundbites, legalism, or ideological posturing, the edited volume Philosophical Hermeneutics and Islamic Thought (Springer, 2022) offers a bold and necessary intervention. It argues that the future of Islamic thought hinges not on new rulings or apologetics, but on a deeper rethinking of what it means to interpret—indeed, to understand—within a living tradition. This is not merely a call to apply Western hermeneutics to Islamic texts. Rather, the volume stages a two-way conversation: Islamic intellectual traditions are not passive recipients of European theory but active interlocutors capable of reshaping the very horizons of hermeneutics itself. The result is a rich, multi-vocal collection that spans classical philosophy, Sufism, political theology, and contemporary reformist thought. At its heart lies a simple yet profound insight: interpretatio...

  Reconceptualising Sunna in Islamic Legal Thought: Epistemology, Authority, and Hermeneutics The essay below is based on academic book I edited and contributed to that was published 10 years ago titled " The Sunna and Its Status in Islamic Law: The Search for an Authentic hadith", Palgrave ,2015. Introduction The concept of sunna has long served as a cornerstone of Islamic legal and theological discourse. Traditionally paired with the Qurʾān as a primary source of normativity, sunna has been invoked to define orthodoxy, delineate legal authority, and shape communal identity. Yet, as The Sunna and Its Status in Islamic Law , edited by Adis Duderija, demonstrates, the meaning, function, and epistemological grounding of sunna have been far from uniform across Islamic intellectual history. This volume offers a critical intervention into the study of Islamic legal theory by interrogating the historical processes through which sunna became increasingly conflated with hadith ,...