Sufi Evolutionism: The Modernist Reform Theology of Mahmud Muhammad Taha (Numen Book Series, 183)

Book info: Sufi Evolutionism: The Modernist Reform Theology of Mahmud Muhammad Taha (Numen Book Series, 183) (Hardcover, 388 pages) – Brill, 2025. Language: English.

The Sudanese Muslim reformer Mahmud Muhammad Taha (d. 1985) is known for his bold proposals for Islamic legal reform. The mystical theology underlying this reform, however, has been largely overlooked. This book analyzes Taha’s Sufi-inspired modernist reform theology in its premodern and modern intellectual contexts. It argues that his unique reliance on premodern Sufi thought allows him to go beyond his contemporaries in bringing Islam into the modern age, in particular with his Islamic theory of evolution and his views on democratic governance and the rights of women and non-Muslims. Taha’s theology can be viewed as a Sufi reply to both western secular thought and to the Salafi interpretations of Islam that have gained worldwide ascendancy in the past decades. Editorial Reviews Review This book highlights the neglected contribution of an African Muslim thinker to global intellectual history. Based on meticulous research, it reveals the roots of Maḥmūd Muḥammad Ṭaha’s modernist reform in the mystical and millenarian traditions of Islam. As such it fills a gap in the historiography of Muslim modernist thought and of the modern Sudan. - Oliver Scharbrodt, author of Muhammad ‘Abduh: Modern Islam and the Culture of Ambiguity.

Hoebink analyzes Maḥmūd Muḥammad Ṭaha’s life and thought in the context of a wide range of intellectual traditions – western and eastern, local Sudanese and global, as well as premodern Sufi and modern esoteric and idealist. He shows how Ustādh Maḥmūd and the Sudan were an integral part of world-wide intellectual developments. A must read for students of both Sudanese and Islamic history. - Lidwien Kapteijns, author of Stringing Coral Beads: The Religious Poetry of Brava (c. 1890 -1975) About the Author Michel Hoebink Ph.D. (2024), University of Amsterdam, is an independent researcher and journalist living in the Netherlands. His interests include Sufism, modern Islam, and modern Sudanese history. He studied Arabic and worked at Utrecht University, as well as for the Arabic department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide.