Book Reviews 161 Defining Islam for the Egyptian State By Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen. Leiden: Brill, 1997, 423 pp. Defining Islam for the Egyptian state is an interesting historical study of an impor­ tant religious institution in Egypt: The State Fatwa Office (Dar al lfta '). It traces this insti­ tution's development from its inception in 1895 to the last quarter of the twentieth centu­ ry, focusing on the role of official muftis and their "sometimes ungrateful task" of defin­ ing Islam for both the state and an increasingly conscious Muslim public (p. I). Uncomfortably situated between a state bureaucracy and an emerging Muslim pub­ lic concerned with the transmission of Islamic values, occupiers of the seat of ifta' were burdened with the task of asserting the compatibility of Islam with modern demands. Thus, their fatwas were different from those of their predecessors in that they were vest­ ed with new institutional authority and directed toward a Muslim public that did not exist before the end of the nineteenth century. Therefore, this study goes beyond the office's role as an official or state institution to analyze further its relation to Egypt's Islamic political discourse. As this office occupies a well-defined position in Egyptian society, 'l.A!.t'l�'l. as \he mout..tl.\)i.e<:.e 0ct: an offic.i.al l�lam th.at has 09ted for accommodati.on between state and religion, and produces fatwas within the framework of existing state law, study­ ing Dar al Ifta' offers significant advantages. By analyzing representative samples of its fatwas in their social and political contexts, this study demonstrates how such fatwas can be used as a source for studying modem Islamic social and intellectual history. In this sense, the history of Dar al Ifta' provides a rare glimpse into major themes of twentieth­ century Islamic thinking. The main source for following its historical development is its work-the fatwas it has issued (book cover & p. I). 162 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 153 Skovgaard-Petersen’s thesis is that although state muftis represented the interests of the state, they have Seen themselves less as governmental functionaries than as defenders of the faith against the onslaught of secularization. Accordingly, they have striven to Islamize society and reconquer temtory lost in the economic, political, social, and moral spheres with the goal of reincorporating them into the Islamic field of meaning. In their endeavor to serve the state, while upholding their authority and combating materialistic currents, state muftis have actually contributed to a reformulation of Islam as simple, d c t - nal, just, and easily applicable, which presents ‘‘a vision of Islam that has been highly influ- ential in the 20th century” @. 29). According to Skovgaard-Petersen, fatwas not only contributed to Islamizing people’s conduct, but actually brought all sorts of human action into the sphere of f q h (jurispru- dence). “The fatwa and mufti then, are situated at the interface between worldly dealings and theorizing about them.” While they had no coercive power to impose their fatwas, the latter, in their totalityy constituted part of “Muslim society’s understanding and represen- tation of itself” over generations (p. 2). In this sense, the study of fatwas is justified as an attempt to demonstrate how they can be used as sources for legal, social, intellectual, and mental history. Apart from other analyses of fatwas, which range from i n d i v i d d y significant and important ones to the whole corpus of a particular mufti, Skovgaard-Petersen maintains that one method of studying fatwas has not been used: a structural analysis of a major fatwa collection. A study of the intertextuality of fatwas, focusing on the norms and cat- egories employed, would shed light on the worldview of a particular period and could yield results different from those obtained by other means. Skovgaard-Petersen express- es particular doubts and reservations regarding methods and cases that disregard the his- torical context of fatwas and thus reduce their value for the study of Islamic dogma and ideology (p. 13). The study is divided into two overlapping parts. The fvst part (chapters Two and Four to Nine) trace the historical development of IXr al Ifta’. The second part analyzes four case studiedfatwas. However, whereas case studiedfatwas 11,111, and IV are includ- ed in later chapters (chapters Five, Six, and Seven), Case Study I, apparently to maintain a chronological order, is incorporated into Chapter Three. The four accompanying appen- dices present a list of the Dar al Iftii’ muftis, the DHr al IfW records, a compilation of fat- was on insurance, and finally a glossary of Arabic words used in the text. The study uses two main sources, which it terms external and internal. The former includes biographical dictionaries of ‘ulamH’, writings by the ‘ulamH’ themselves or the British Residency (later embassy), books written by some of the muftis, fatwas published in newspapers and mag- azines and, finally, the archives of the British Residency and Foreign Mice. The internal sources an essentially the records of DHr al Ifta’ (pp. 30-32). Chapter One examines the origin of the concept of ipd’, reviews the litaatute, and discusses some methodological issues pertaining to how the study was conducted. Chapter Two is a historical account of political, educational, legal, and religious developments in nineteenth-century Egypt. It examines the organizational structure of al *, the impact of printing on the dissemination of religious knowledge and &was through newspapem, mgazks, and other publications; and the emerging influence of the salafi movement pro- mulgated by such prominent intellectual Muslim as Mu@nmad ‘Abduh and Rashid Ri@. Chapter Four examines the establishment of DHr al Ifta’ on 21 November 1895, the role of the mufti, and the gradual institutionaliion of the IjanafI school of thought (Egypt was an Ottoman territory) is a predominantly ShWi country. The sccond part of the chapter examines and analyzes the lives and some of the fat- was of prominent muftis who occupied that position even before the establishment of DHr Book Reviews 163 d IfW. The list includes M~dpmmad al ‘AbWlsI al Mahdi (1 848-97); WsOnah al Nawawi (1895-!B), the first mufti of Dgr al Ifta’ pro^, and M-ad ‘Abduh (1899-1905), the leading representative of the Waf3 movement and the major figure of Islamic reformism. The latter’s famous fatwa, known as the “Transvaal fatwa,” in response to a question by a Muslim from that part of the world, is discussed in some detail. To the three questions asked .as to whether Muslims were permitted to wear a hat, eat meat slaughtered by Christians, and whether S M l Muslims could pray behind &mafl Muslim given some technical differences, ‘AMuh‘s response, based on his own $iW (analytical deduction), was in the affirmative. Finally, the list includes the rather inactive and less controversial Balui al $a& (1905-14) and Mulpmmad Bakhit (1914-20), a prolific writer and politi- cally active mufti who opposed any attempt to abolish the ofice and worked diligently to d o r m the religous law courts (ul M e ul ShaJiyuh). chaptcrs five and six deal with other challenges that faced the state mufti. In the for- mer chapter, which mainly covers the period between 1928-54, such challenges are seen to arise fmn the emergence of other fatwa bodies, such as the Corps of High ‘Ulama’ at al Azhar University, which emerged out of the Azhar Organization law of 191 1. The Corps consisted of 30 seats divided among representatives of different Sunni schools of thought: 11 @anafis, 9 ShHi‘is, 9 =is, and 1 l$anbali. Other bodies included the Azhar Fatwa Council (Lajnat ul Furciwd bi ul Ah), which was inaugurated in 1935 by the Waf3 shaykh of al Azhar Mqtafa al m g h i and contained twelve members fiom different madhdhib. The growth of lay influence, in the form of the Muslim Brotherhood (neo- WatT) and its associated intemationalism, also was a significant challenge not only to the state mufti’s authority but to any body perceived as subject to state influence. Its rise had to do with Egypt’s political climate and the spread of literacy and secular schooling. Founded by IJassan al B a n d in 1928, it was the most conspicuous reaction to the sup pression of religious teaching in the public school system and to the British presence. Nevertheless, the two most prominent muftis during this period were ‘Abduh’s disciple ‘AM al Majid Salim (1928-45), and the more conservative and anti-$al& m a y n M ~ ~ l p m m d yaSanayan Makhltlf (194640, 1952-S4), both of whom maintained the authority and influence of the DHr al Ifta’. The Egyptian revolution of 1952 and the rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser to power brought about significant changes in the fortunes of the ‘ulam8’. The previous power bal- ance bcnveen the Palace, the Parliament, and the British gave way to pervasive state con- trol and a growing bureaucracy. Chapter Six examines the period between 1954-78, dur- ing which muftis were eclipsed by the state and the victory of the moderate $alafi faction of the W a d . This was particularly true after the revolution’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in 1954, which undermined the structure of the neo-$alaf3 movement. The nationalization of the uwqdf(re1igious endowments) and the abolishment of al Mal$Wm al Shar’iyah in 1956 further had a profound impact on Egypt’s ‘dad and religious insti- tutions. While nationalization undermined these institutions’ economic independence, the latter opened the door for graduates from secular universities for a career in the personal status legal sector (previously the pnserve of al Azhar candidates). No wonder some Muslims claimed that such measures were directed at Islam. The new regime’s purpose, however, was to bridge the gap between Islamic and sec- ular legal and educational systems, a development that had contributed to social frag- mentation. These measures were followed by the Law Number 103 of 1%1 for the m r - ganization dal Azhar. During this period, the mufti had limited, if any, political influence or public role. Islam was used to mobilize the people to achieve goals set by the state and as an ideological weapon against the monarchies of the Arabian peninsula, while al Azhar was incorporatsd as an instrument of statc legithization. 164 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15:3 The tide seemed to turn after Nasser’s death and his successor’s (Anwar al-Sadat) change of course. Chapter Seven deals with the Islamization agenda. In seeking to under- mine the influence and power of internal leftist forces, Sadat released members of the Muslim Brotherhood from jail and attempted to mobilize Islamic groups. He also pro- mulgated a new constitution in 1971, which stipulated that Islam was the state religion and that the Shari’ah was the principal source of legislation. This, in many ways unwittingly, provided an institutional framework for the Islamization of society, which sometimes went beyond the regime’s expectations: it gave the Muslim Brotherhood a chance to join the Parliament and engage in the political process, and assisted the rise of radical and mil- itant Islamist groups that eventually turned against the state. The period between 1970-1990s thus witnessed both the Islamization of Egyptian society and the growing impact of political Islam. This trend was buttressed by the oil boom and the growing influence of Saudi Arabia, the social indifference of the newly enriched ir.$i&ih bourgeoisie, the state’s weakened role in many social sectors (mainly due to its growing debt and privatization attempts), and other reasons related to the defeat in the 1967 war. The Islamists’ turn against the state engendered further conflict with the official ‘ulama’ and the state mufti. Being part of the state bureaucracy, the latter could not share the Islamists’ opinions of the regime’s illegitimacy due to its un-Islamic character. This brought the religious institutions squarely into the government’s camp, for their own legitimacy also was being questioned commensurately. This confrontation between Islamists and official ‘ulama’ assumed new dimensions with the appointment of Jadd al Yaqq ‘Mi Jadd al Haqq (1978-82). JMd al Haqq actively sought to reassert the authority of Di%r al m’ as a competent and efficient institution (Chapter Eight). He maintained that only well-trained and qualified ‘ulama’ could practice U r i M , thus disqualifying laymen, and actually directed polemics against them, much to the satisfaction of the regime. However, what discredited Jadd a1 Haqq most in the eyes of many Muslims was his sanctioning of the new personal status law, known as “Law of Jihan” (Sadat’s wife), and his support for the Camp David Peace Accords. He came to be perceived as nothing more than a government puppet. The co-optation of the ‘ulama’ by the state appeared to be complete. With JMd a1 Haqq’ s appointment, and with his successors, the mufti “for the first time for almost a century ... became an important tool of State pol- icy” @. 250). Followed by two inconspicuous muftis, ‘Abd al Lapf Hamzah (1982-85) and M-ad Mujaid (1985-86), the muftiship finally devolved to Muhammad Sayyid ‘Apyah Tanpwi (1986-97), the last mufti dealt with in this study (the current mufti is Mdpmmad h i d WQil, 1997-). Chapter Nine examines his career and some of his fat- was and activities. From the very beginning he was mired in controversy and disputes. Many saw him as the most compliant of all the official ‘ulama’, and others challenged his knowledge and ethics, especially after his 7 September 1989 fatwa sanctioning saving cer- tificates. This particular fatwa led to the accusation that he had legalized usury (rihi) and had a tendency to permit what he had earlier prohibited or vice versa (p. 282). Only 6 months earlier he had issued an opposing fatwa on this same question (Chapter Ten, Case Study 11). This, together with his rather ambiguous fatwa (Chapter Eleven, Case Study 111) on the legality of a sex change operation, subjected him to continuous criticism. The last chapter (Case Study IV) deals with risk, the insurance industry’s history in Egypt, and Egyptian fatwas on this matter over the last century. While earlier muftis pro- hibited insurance on the ground that it was a new type of contract unknown tofiqh, later muffis approved it (with the exception of multinational commercial insurance). Finally, Case Study I, in Chapter Three, examines a number of fatwas issued during the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century that sought to deal with the tele- Book Reviews 165 graph, a relatively new invention at the time, and the permissibility of using it to report lunar observations. Its main source was the Syrian Sal& Jamiil al Din al Qbimi (1911). The fatwas on the telegraph were chosen by Skovgaard-Petersen because they discussed major themes in the Salafl vision of ifZ, do the fatwas concerned with the spreading of printed materials, printing, publicity, European inventions, rationality, and change. This was considered a suitable conclusion to the second chapter, which dealt with the histori- cal background of D& a1 If@ (p. 381). Skovgaard-Petersen’s interesting study raises important questions concerning the level and degree of significance of such religious institutions in Egypt’s social and polit- ical life and the extent to which they embody credible authority. Have they been effec- tively committed to the preservation of faith in society, linking it to the practical dimen- sions of social life, and if need be, have they successfully confronted or challenged the state when its policies contradicted Islamic injunctions? More crucial is whether the ‘ulams’ can continue to serve a state while simultaneously upholding their credibility and authority. From a sequence of comments made throughout the book by Islamic figures, one is prone to arrive at a negative conclusion. For example, a1 Marilghi blamed the ‘ulamii’, whom he accuses of passivity and ignorance (p. 148), for the wretched moral con- dition of Egyptian society. &man al Bannli’ perceived a1 Azhar as simply graduating “religious literates” rather than spiritual guides, and thus saw it as an institution that was favored by imperialists. Essentially, they were nothing more than state functionaries (‘ulm-’ muwuzp$n) (p. 157). ‘Abd al Saliim Faraj, author of ul Furiduh ul-Ghd’ibuh and a Muslim activist executed after Sadat’s assassination in 198 1, argued that the ‘ulamii’ did nothing to resist Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt (1798-1801) (p. 219). In the early 1980s, Ynsuf al Qara&iwi strongly criticized al Azhar and its organs in the same vein (p. 188). One senses an agreement, over time and by different people from different walks of life as well as members of these same institutions, that a religious and institutional crisis does exist, one that existed long before the so-called (and negatively perceived) nationalization of religious institutions in 1961. Skovgaard-Petersen does not deal in any depth with the underlying reasons behind such a sorry state, but does recognize in his conclusion the resulting “anarchic situation of i W ’ (p. 379). The fact that a sense of crisis existed even when religious institutions enjoyed a good measure of economic independence and maneuvering space begs an important question: Is the asserted passivity and ignorance of the ‘ulamii’ an organizational-institutional outcome, a modhabi one, or both? In other words, where doesthe problem lie? Is there a mudhubi crisis (not necessarily a religious one, although frequently the two are confused) or a paradigmatic one (in Thomas Kuhn’s parlance) in the Sunni world that has translated into institutional ossification or vice versa? Which is the cause, which is the effect? Or is it sym- biotic? These are complex issues that Sunnis must address, for sound answers depend strongly on asking the right and difficult questions. Skovgaard-Petersen’s work, while not actually raising these inquiries, logically implies and anticipates them, especially when fat- was often seem to be nothing more than reflections of economic and political interests and expediencies (p. 312-13) or simply contexts. Irrespective of who the mufti is, it is highly disconcerting to the average Muslim to see a religious institution previously opposed to peace with Israel on religious grounds sanctioning it at a later date. One can relate a melan- cholic historical experience, but this suffices to ask the challenging question as to whether religion matters any more in such supposed bastions of faith and orthodoxy. It has been suggested frequently that state policies of co-optation, nationalization, and control of these institutions have led to this sorry state of affairs. However, this presumes that the same state of affairs is a recent phenomenon rather than an historical one, a claim that would very like- ly stand on shaky ground. 166 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15:3 Finally, I would like to highlight a point that Skovgaard-Petersen seems to overlook: the important differences between functional or procedural equivalence and substantive distinctions. He raises the valid issue of whether labeling a hospital or a bank, for instance, as Islamic makes it truly Islamic. The answer is certainly “no,” but he seems to ignore the substantive role of premises, motives, and intentions as well as some proce- dural differences that are intrinsic to the core of the faith. However, his point remains valid and contentious, for superficiality could easily be mistaken for substance. Skovgaard-Petersen further seems to be willing to superimpose “Christian” secular his- torical experiences on Islam, arguing that in trying to prove the latter fully compatible with modem society, Muslims may simply end up endorsing secular modernity and lit- tle more. Such a proposition ignores the structural differences between the two faiths and the fact that while Islam has a religious law, Christianity by and large lacks one (pp. 222- 23). This constraint recasts the proposition into an empirical, rather than an epistemo- logical, framework. Therefore, the link between this structural legal component and the nature and outcome of experiences must be tested before making sweeping and general- ized statements. Skovgaard-Petersen’s study, nevertheless, is a laudable chronological effort that con- tributes to both the accessibility and a better understanding of Islamic law as it develops within its own context. Moreover, it is of particular relevance to those students and schol- ars studying and analyzing the social and intellectual history of the modem Arab world. Amr G. E. Sabet Department of Political Science University of Tampere Tampere, Finland