📖EP055 Faheem Hussain on Thomas Bauer's "A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam"

Abbasid History Podcast

Thomas Bauer's "A Culture of Ambiguity" stands out as one of the most important contributions to Islamic Studies in recent decades. First published in German in 2011, it wasn't until 2021 that it became available in English. Bauer's three decades of knowledge and expertise shine through in the work, which earned him the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award in Germany. It is rare for an academic book rich in insights for specialists to also be engaging enough for general readers, yet this is exactly what Bauer has achieved. However our guest today has an essay published in the Maydan journal online journal interogating Bauer's conceptualisation of "ambiguity" and its application in the history of islamic culture.

Faheem A. Hussain is an independent researcher. He has a BA (Hons.) in Arabic and Islamic studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, a PGCE in Religious Studies from Roehampton University, and an MA in philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London. His writings can be found at https://faheemahussain.substack.com/ and https://x.com/FaheemAMHussain.

Faheem's article: https://themaydan.com/2024/08/ambiguity-as-a-master-key-critically-reading-thomas-bauers-culture-of-ambiguity/

https://x.com/FaheemAMHussain/status/1772736085627457970

Timestamps 02:11 You say in your essay: Now this does not pretend to be anything but a critical review of Bauer, interrogating his ideas of ambiguity, its coherence and implications, and despite my best efforts in civility, there’s no hiding my polemical intent. Even so, I wish to insist that this book is a product of a fine mind and generous soul, and that I have no doubt that if anyone reads the book, they will only leave more humbled, indebted as well as greatly enriched by reading it. Without a doubt, this is a book that should be read as well as kept on a shelf. Before we start why don't you give us an overview of the book and what he liked best about it.

16:23 At the heart of Bauer's work is this concept of Ambiguity. Tell us what he means by this and your reservations.

37:52 For me, my favourite parts were on the divergent readings of the Quran and the difference between the comfort of medieval scholars about that, particularly Ibn al-Jazari and the anxiety of modern Muslims. Though at first blush the late Saudi-Salafi cleric, Sheikh Ibn al-ʿUthaymin and the Pakistani activist al-Mawdudi, God be kind to their souls, might seem apart yet they share the same modern anxiety about ambiguity according to Bauer. It seems you are more on board with him on this then his other applications of ambiguity in the cultural history of Islam.

49:25 Like you, I wasn't convinced by his thoughts on the concept of foreigness in Islamic cultural history. You also take him to task on his take on homoerotica. I also feel that with current debate about gender and the like whether it makes sense to say there is a lack of ambiguity in contemporary culture. I feel if we had experts on medieval, early modern and modern Europe as Bauer is an expert on medieval Arabic whether we would have better insights on ambiguity as a concept.

01:03:52 And finally before we end tell us where listeners can turn next to learn more about today's topic and what are other current projects that listeners can anticipate? Works mentioned in episode: Pieter Coppens, Did Modernity End Polyvalence? Some Observations on Tolerance for Ambiguity in Sunni tafsīrhttps://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jqs.2021.0450?role=tab Usaama al-Azami,Traditional Islam, Ideology, Immigrant Muslims, and Grievance Culture: A Review of Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe by Abdal Hakim Murad https://muslimmatters.org/2021/02/05/traditional-islam-ideology-immigrant-muslims-and-grievance-culture-a-review-of-travelling-home-essays-on-islam-in-europe-by-abdal-hakim-murad/ Frank Griffel, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam https://www.academia.edu/47378325/The_Formation_of_Post_Classical_Philosophy_in_Islam

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