Ummah or Nation

Abstract

The interaction of societies and worldviews is one of the great themes of modem world history. Abdullah al-Ahsan makes an important contribution to the explanation and W1derstanding of these interactions in the context of the Islamic world. In particular, he concentrates on the issues of ultimate sociopolitical identity and how it is affected by the attitudes and beliefs of modem Muslims: the dual loyalty to "nation" and to the greater Islamic commnity (ummah). This book opens with a discussion of the term "um.mah" and its conceptual development in Islamic history. Then it addresses the develop­ ment of nationalism in the modem world, particularly during the colonial era in Turkey, Egypt, and South Asia, and leading to "the identity crisis of the modem Muslim." Al-Ahsan concludes with a discussion of contemporary transnational Muslim organizations, giving special attention to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which he describes as both a potentially ummatic entity and an organization of nation-states. "The problematic relationship between European secular thought and traditional Islamic ideas has created an identity crisis in contemporary Muslim society" (p. 145), al-Ahsan says. This is not just a matter of the coexistence of different identities within an individual or group, which is natural; rather it involves defining a Muslim's "supreme loyalty." For such a loyalty to be successful it should "be strong enough to generate a sense of unity among its adherents and at the same time be flexible enough to accommodate other identities within its fold" (p. 146). This is a matter of individual identity and "an adherent should have the freedom ...