Weber and Islam: A Critical Study

by Bryan S. Turner

Book Overview

This work is available individually, or can be purchased as part of the 7 volume set "Max Weber: Classic Monographs,"

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 071007848X
• ISBN13: 9780710078483
• Release Date: May 1974
• Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul Books
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Max Weber views of Karl Marx's view of Islam

The author noted "my intention was to write a very general work on Islam....[and]...Max Weber's sociology of civilizations offered a rewarding starting point...(but I) ..had to incorporate an increasingly detailed elaboration of Weber's sociology itself" (p.1). The author noted: "There are three key elements to this study of Weber and Islam. The first task was to outline what Weber actually wrote about Islam, Muhammad and Islamic society....(T)he second element is an analysis of the relationship between Marx and Weber in terms of Marx's `Asiatic mode of production'....The final section...centres on the problem of the relationship between Islam, colonialism and the rise of modern society "(p.2-3). Chapter titles include: An interpretation of Weber on Islam; Charisma and the origins of Islam; Allah and man; Saint and sheikh; Patrimonialism and charismatic succession; Islam and the city; Weber, law and Islam; Islam and Ottoman decline; Islamic reform and the sociology of motives; Islam and secularization; Marx, Weber and Islam. The author notes that he is `grateful' to W. Montgomery Watt "for critical comments on earlier sections of this book." Besides discussing Weber's thoughts about Islam, the author briefly discusses Karl Marx's thoughts regarding atheism and sex (p.180). The author concluded: "...in his account of Islam Weber was unable to transcend the emotional blockage which sexuality created in his personal life.....Because of this conflict in Weber's personal life between asceticism and the world, it is legitimate to distinquish between Weber and Marx over the issue of belief. Marx's sociology is atheist and critical; Weber's sociology is agnostic and judgmental. Hence, Weber's commentary on the Islamic ethic involved not a description, but a judgment on a moral code which fell below Weber's estimate of the hero-ethic" (p.184). A lot of good understanding of the origins of Islam, a lot of sociology discussion, and a lot of interpretation of Weber's views regarding Marx's view of religion in relationship to Islam.