Introduction
The Political Context
The sociology of Turkish Rationalists
Defining Islamic Rationalism
Explaining the Cases: Historicists and Universalists
The Structure of the Book
Chapter 1: The Fundamentals: Qur’an and Hadith
The rationalists on Qur’an
Historicists on the Nature of Qur’an
Historicists Interpreting Qur’an
Universalists on the Nature of Qur’an
Universalists Interpreting Qur’an
The rationalists on Hadith
The Status of Traditions
Criticizing the Hadith Literature
The Debate on Methodology
Chapter 2: Law: Demystifying Shari‘a
The Nature and the Status of Shari‘a
Cases: A Rationalist Interpretation of Shari‘a
Corporal Punishment
Slavery
Apostasy
Jihad
The Status and Rights of Women in Islam
The Law of Inheritance Polygamy Divorce Marriage with non-Muslims Beating Women Women’s Testimony Veiling
Who is a good Muslim? A Moralistic Theory of Piety
Shari‘a in Practice: Comprehensive Sunnah
Islam and Politics: Towards a Theory of Opposition
Chapter 3: History: “De-Islamizing” Islamic History
Turkish Rationalists on History and Causality
Revisionism on the History of Qur’an
Revisionism on Muhammad’s Life
Revisionism on the Early Islamic History
Chapter 4: Politics and Society: What went wrong?
The Mainstream Theory of Decay
The Rise of Sunni Orthodoxy
Al-Ghazali: The Triumph of Anti-Rationalism
Ash‘arism: The Paradigmatic Root
Al-Shafi‘i: “The Villain”
The Umayyads: The Practical Distortion of Islam
Sufism: Popularization of Anti-Rationalism
Contemporary Islamic Social Movements: A False Theory of Revival
Conclusion