Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi‘ism: From ‘Ali to Post-Khomeini Hamid Mavani New York: SUNY, 2013. 288 pages. Utilizing a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, Hamid Mavani examines the locus of religious authority and its contemporary expression in Twelver Shi‘ism. Starting with the time of the Prophet, he provides a com- prehensive and nuanced analysis of the doctrine of the Imamate and Shi‘i re- ligious and political authority from traditional, rational, theological, and political perspectives. The first part of the book, comprising three chapters, focuses on the doc- trine of the Imamate and contains some of the material that has already been covered by scholars like Amir Moezzi, Wilferd Madelung, Mousawi, and Maria Massi Dakake. Here, Mavani examines the authority of the Imams and that of the jurists during the Twelfth Imam’s occultation. He stresses the Imams’ spir- itual and religious-political authority as well as the ensuing doctrines of taqlīd and ijtihād during this period. Citing Shi‘i sacred sources, he provides a Shi‘i self-understanding of the concepts underpinning the Imamate, namely, those of wilāyah and walāyah (the Imams’ moral-spiritual authority). Mavani argues, convincingly, that Khomeini’s model of governance (wilāyat al-faqīh) has received a disproportionate amount of attention in recent times. His theory was only one among others that have been proposed by such scholars as Montazeri, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Fadlallah, and Mahdi Shams al-Din. Other Shi‘i theories of governance have been largely ignored. His dis- cussion and critique of this model is both incisive and erudite, for not only does he examine the views of its proponents and opponents, but he also provides a detailed and nuanced discussion of other possible forms of government and the dangers involved in Iran’s currently centralized form of leadership. The last three chapters cover material that has been largely neglected by western scholarship on contemporary Islam. This is where Mavani’s major contribution lies: his criticism of traditional ijtihād as being deficient and in- effective as regards meeting contemporary challenges (pp. 226-27) and some of the discriminatory rulings that are based upon it, many of which are casu- istic, arbitrary, and often based on the principle of secondary rulings. Most works on religious authority in Shi‘ism focus on the authority of the Imams and the jurists during the Twelfth Imam’s occultation. Mavani pro- poses other state models to the one practiced in contemporary Iran. Quoting 114 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 32:2 ajiss32-2_ajiss 4/8/2015 4:03 PM Page 114 the thoughts of various Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese scholars, he details alter- native views on political authority and governance and examines different state models and public endorsements of wilāyat al-faqīh. It soon becomes clear that he does not favor the current model, preferring instead other models that require public participation and endorsement. The special merit of Mavani’s work is that he explores the possibility of secularism within the context of an Islamic state facilitating a separation be- tween church and state and ensuring equal rights for all. He argues that the basis of such a state lies beyond the confines of traditional ijtihād. Founda- tional ijtihād, as it has been termed, strives to formulate new juridical rulings keeping in mind the Islamic ethos and the ethical-moral spirit of egalitarian- ism. A state based on this form of ijtihād would be a novel political state in the context of the modern nation-state. This new ijtihād could provide a basis for alternative political models of- fered by eminent Shi‘i jurists and the interplay of ijtihād’s foundational prin- ciples with various disciplines in order to reconstruct Islamic thought and legal theory so that it could provide a basis for a civil society that accommodates pluralism and secularism (p. xii). Mavani mentions scholars like Mojtahed Shabistari, Mohsen Kadivar, Muhaqqiq Damad, and Abdolkarim Soroush as having put forth creative ideas to reform Islamic legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) so as to expand the scope of ijtihād (p. xi). We are told that the proponents of foundational ijtihād have revised a the- ology that looks at the Imams merely as pious and gifted individuals bereft of the sanctity accorded them by other Shi‘is. This ijtihād is based on a rationalist ethical theory that relies on a rational and scientific approach as well as a philosophically rooted system that has a moral outlook. However, the author does not elaborate upon precisely how this new ijtihād will function, the re- sults it will achieve, and how it will resolve new challenges without ignoring the role of traditional Islamic legal theory. There is little discussion of this new ijtihād and how it can ameliorate tra- ditional ijtihād. The new ijtihād outlined by Mavani can appear arbitrary and often left to the whims of a scholar. Similarly, the author does not discuss a re- vision of traditional uṣūl al-fiqh that undergirds ijtihād. He had mentioned in the preface that some contemporary scholars had put forth creative ideas to re- form Islamic legal theory, but does not pursue this theme in the book. Although he quotes Kadivar as stating that the new ijtihād model recon- structs theology and ethics so that the intellect is given a more expansive role in decision-making, this theory still contains many gaps. The proposed model of ijtihād is conceptually ambiguous and vague, especially as it could form the Book Reviews 115 ajiss32-2_ajiss 4/8/2015 4:03 PM Page 115 basis of new legal rulings and could be used to create a state that would be based on an Islamic ethical-moral vision and be secular at the same time. In addition, some comments need to be fully explained. For example, the author states that Mulla Ahmad Naraqi favored the jurist’s expansive wilāyah but only at the theoretical level (p. 196). He does not explain or speculate on the idea of jurists wielding authority that is not to be implemented. Mavani’s approach to the topic is based on a historical-chronological method combined with a textual-critical analysis of the sources and the pro- posed models of ijtihād. He has clearly consulted a vast array of primary and secondary sources on the subject, reflecting the depth and breadth of his schol- arship. This book will appeal to graduate students in Islamic studies and un- dergraduate students interested in political science, reformation in the Muslim world, and contemporary religious/political thought. I would definitely want it in my personal library. The book opens a window on how various interpretive strategies can be utilized to revisit and revise traditional rulings and how these strategies can shape the social and religious milieus in which more than a billion people live. It also examines the discourse on various contemporary issues, as scholars and jurists are engaged in hermeneutic and interpretive exercises, to provide a coherent re-evaluation of classical formulations and to assert a theory of po- litical governance that will incorporate contemporary understandings of dig- nity, freedom of conscience, minority rights, and gender equality based on the concept of universal moral values. Liyakat Takim Professor, Department of Religious Studies McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada 116 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 32:2 ajiss32-2_ajiss 4/8/2015 4:03 PM Page 116