Muhammad Abduh  | June 18, 2004

Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) was an Egyptian advocate of Islamic modernism. He was banished from Egypt by the British for fighting against the colonial authority. Besides trying to free the Muslims from colonial rule he was also concerned about reforming their religious beliefs. Commitment to science and participation in public life was in his view consistent with Islamic ideals and Islamic tradition. Muhammad Abduh argued for a sensitive exercise of individual judgment in matters of law, as opposed to the strict adherence to the sharia and he argued for more reliance on the Ijma, or community consensus, in determining legislative policy.