sive, like those of mUhammad iqbal (1877–1938)
and abU al-kalam azad (1888–1958), other major
Indian Muslim intellectuals whom he admired. He
acknowledged the eternal truth contained in the
qUran but also maintained that the interpreta-
tion of the Quran and God’s law had to adapt
to changing historical circumstances. Reflecting
his secular Western education and the influence
of orientalism, Fyzee argued for the construc-
tion of a modern Islam. Thus, he proposed that
what he called the “reinterpretation” of Islam
required not only knowledge of traditional Islamic
sacred texts and the conditions in which they
were produced but also the study of the history
of religions, the comparative study of “Semitic”
religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and
languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic), and
knowledge about modern science. Islamic theol-
ogy (kalam) should be reformed in light of con-
temporary European thought and even recognize
the insights of Protestant theologians and Jewish
thinkers. Moreover, Fyzee argued that reinter-
pretation of Islamic law involved making critical
distinctions between essential moral principles
and detailed laws that were suited only to limited
historical circumstances. Among the areas where
he felt that immediate reform was needed was that
of women’s rights, where he pointed out the con-
tradictions between the rights given to them by
the Quran in matters of marriage and inheritance,
and the de facto denial of these rights to Women
in many Muslim-majority countries in the 20th
century.
See also ismaili shiism; secUlarism.Further reading: Kenneth Cragg, Troubled by Truth:
Life Studies in Interfaith Concern (Edinburgh: Pent-
land Press, 1992), 187–202; A. A. A. Fyzee, Outlines
of Muhammadan Law (Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1999); Ismail Poonawala, “In Memorium: A. A. A.
Fyzee, 1899–1981,” International Journal of Middle East
Studies 14, no. 3 (1982).Fyzee, Asaf Ali Asghar 253 J