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~The Reform Movements
1150-1336 AH
1737-1918 CEAT THE SAME TIME as these political developments, a crucial story was
1".. unfolding in the intellectual arena as well. This story began before
1800 and continued long after, with consequences that shake the world to
this very day: it consisted of revival and reform movements that surged up
throughout the Muslim world at the same time that Europeans were over-
whelming these lands.
The two stories are related, though not identical. Some sort of sweep-
ing challenge to the Muslim status quo was going to take place around this
time with or without the Europeans. Why? Because in the Muslim world,
by 1700 or so, religious institutions had bureaucratized spirituality in
much the same way that the Catholic Church had bureaucratized Chris-
tianity in late medieval Europe. The whole system of Muslim law had been
worked out so fully that there was no creative work left for any new en-
thusiast to do. The application of shari' a to every dot and detail of personal
and social life was a done deal. The power of the ulama had grown en-
crusted. The Sufi orders had been institutionalized, and authorities at
every level agreed that "the gates of ijtihad were closed."