Oct 31, 2024
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鈥檚 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-士Uthaymin 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 tafs墨r
https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jqs.2021.0450?role=tab
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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