Vesícula-
ESTERILIDAD Falsa artritis reumatoide.
Maududi (Abul A’la Maududi, or Syed Abul A’la Maududi Chishti) is a scholar of the Indian subcontinent, whose work parallels much of the thinking discussed in relation to Egyptian revivalist thinkers. Maududi’s attempt to revive the political aspect of Islam as a means of offsetting the threat he perceived as emanating from the “west,” is most apparent in the nationalist and socialist trends visible in the political discourse of his day.91 Like his Egyptian counterparts, he emphasised activism as a means of
achieving his aims, as well as demonstrably influencing the politics of the nation of Pakistan.92 It is perhaps fair to say that Maududi enjoyed significantly more success
in interfacing with the government and politics of his nation than his Egyptian counterparts, winning significant concessions for his ideas and movement within the context of the prevailing social framework. This may be a result of the very different setting in which Maududi practised, with greater opportunities afforded by the partition of India along religious lines.93 Much of his writing was devoted to ensuring
that the new nation of Pakistan became realised as an Islamic state.
In surveying his writings, it is clear that Maududi was not drawn to more esoteric or reason-based approaches to scripture, but instead emphasised reading the text in a literal manner. This notion of reading scripture at first glance was borne out by his articulation of both Islamic law and governance within his proposed Islamic state. Whilst he suggests that reading should be shallow, his approach is different from what may be identified as traditionalist readings and interpretations, though he presents his interpretation of scripture as a rediscovery of original interpretations.94 In
91 Elisa Giunchi, ‘The Political Thought of Abul A'lā Mawdūdī’ (1994) 59 Il Politico 347, 348. 92 Zohair Husain, ‘Maulana Sayyid Abul A'La Maududi: An Appraisal of His Thought and Political
Influence’ (1986) 9 South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 61, 61–62.
93 Whilst Maududi was not in support of partition, the event served to enhance the thinker’s platform.
See Lerman Eran, ‘Mawdudi's Concept of Islam’ (1981) 17 Middle Eastern Studies 492, 495.
94 In discussing Islamic terms such as deen (religion, creed,) rabb (master, lord) ibdah (obedience) and
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setting out how the “Islamic state” is unique from other forms of organisation and governance, Maududi advanced the absence of any nationalistic sentiment,95 echoing
other revivalist scholars who considered nationalism a western innovation. He called the Islamic state an “ideological state”, one in which Islam permeated every aspect of life.96 To address the ominous “west” Maududi emphasised the need for the holistic
development of Islamic society in order to challenge the dominance of “godless systems of state and law”.97 By way of comparison, he draws on the French and
Russian revolutions, and devotes some focus to the provenance of the Nazi system, noting that the emergence of fascism would not have been possible had it not been for the conspiracy of historical factors and the philosophies of Hegel, Fichte, Goethe, Nietzsche, and ultimately Hitler, which served to instigate the conditions required for revolution.98 He concludes that in the same manner, the example of Muhammad
should permeate all aspects of Islamic cultural and social life prior to the Islamic revolution being instigated.99 This stresses the foundational nature of revivalist-
Islamist thinking in relation to later violence and political efforts. It also serves to explain the grassroots approach Maududi initially took.
Whilst Maududi aspired to “pure Islam”, the vision of Islamic statehood he presented has been contested as being heavily influenced by the experience of the colonial system. From an anthropological position Ahmad, for instance, suggests that having observed the manner in which colonial law presided over the Indian population, Maududi sought to fuse the modern state with Islamic principles.100 This is borne out
by the lexicon adopted by Maududi, for instance conceptualising Muslims as a movement or party.101 In discussing Maududi, there is a marked tendency to discuss
aspects of this thought as the “invention of tradition”, meaning the generation of new ideas that have subsequently been assumed to be longstanding Islamic concepts.102
been obscured by subtle changes across the centuries. See Abul A’la Mawdudi, Four Basic Terms (Abu Asad tr, 4th edn, Islamic Publications Limited ) 3.
95 Abul A'la Maududi, The Process of Islamic Revolution (Kazi Publications 1990) 3. 96 Ibid 3–4.
97 Ibid 9. 98 Ibid 10. 99 Ibid 10.
100 Irfan Ahmad, ‘Genealogy of the Islamic State: Reflections on Maududi's Political Thought and
Islamism’ (2009) 15 The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute S145, S155.
101 Ibid S156.
102 Damningly, Roberts notes that Maududi’s articulation of the “Islamic state” bears a striking
resemblance to the creation of Israel as a Jewish state. He contends that Maududi aimed to create an Islamic state upon the lines of Israel. See generally Nicholas P. Roberts, Political Islam and the Invention of Tradition (New Academia Publishing LLC 2015).
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The successful integration of Maududi’s thoughts into the ideology of contemporary violent Islamist movements as well as the Pakistani state. The reinvention and reinterpretation of the political order presented as inherent in Islam by Maududi have subsequently become the hallmark of contemporary Islamism.103
Maududi and Qutb are often presented as interchangeable when it comes to their essential ideology of Islamic statehood.104 This is not without significance,
especially with regards to establishing typical features. Maududi, unlike his Egyptian counterparts, however, found himself far more involved in statecraft, and accordingly effected direct change not just in civil society, but in the judiciary and government of the Pakistani state.105 Subsequently, the influence of Maududi and the organisation he
sired (Jamaat-e-Islami) waned in influence as the social realities of the modern state caused the ruling elite to sideline Islamists.106 His influence on fringe groups and
extremists, however, has persisted.107 The utility of considering Maududi is perhaps
the extent to which parallels may be drawn between his thought and the approach of Egyptian revivalists, assisting in establishing typical features of the contemporary approach. Maududi also exemplifies the different manner in which the neo-jihadist approach can play out, should civil society and government behave more submissively.