292 chapter seven
the Prophet, the complete knowledge of the General Consensus of
the Prophet’s Companions, are but some examples. There did not
appear to Muslim jurists then that these conditions were entirely met
in those newly comers to Islam who claimed the ability to engage
in jurisprudence.
Second, it was feared that some new comers to the science of juris-
prudence may have been under the influence of newly secular Muslim
rulers who may have had a desire for a religious ruling, fatwa, to
legitimise an unworthy secular inclination of their own.
Third, with the spread of several religious sects and subsets whose
religious practice were not always generally accepted but sometimes
doubted and very often frowned upon, there was a fear that the opin-
ion and practice of these sects may be perceived, or misperceived,
as in conformity to the genuine practices of the early devout Muslims.
To put a halt to any process of legitimising these practices and to
confine them, instead, to their sources which are the initiating sect lead-
ers, there was a need, seemingly, to declare that no further process
of general legitimisation through jurisprudence was to be exercised.
Fourth, which summarises the whole purpose of stopping any fur-
ther work of jurisprudence, there was a need to stop false non-reli-
gious innovation, bida"h, under the false proclamation of religious
modernisation, tajdid. To confirm the refusal of newness in the reli-
gion, the jurists declared that any false innovation is, bida’h, every
bid’ahis misleading infidelity, dhalalah, and every misleading infidelity
(and its innovator) is in Hell. Until the present day, accusing a per-
son of introducing a bida’hcan be a serious religious condemnation.
Although the accusation does not necessarily imply the intention of
taking a person to a religious court, it does cut deeply into the per-
son’s own religious pride and belief.
Western Intellectual Penetration
The Western influence during the Ottomans was not confined to com-
mercial agencies. Encouraged by the success of commercial agencies,
Christian missionaries looked to the east, as in the old days of the
Crusades. The liberal policies adopted by some Muslim leaders added
further encouragement. For example, the Lebanese Prince Fakhr-al-
Dìn II (1590–1635) not only imported scientists and engineers from
Italy, but also welcomed Christian missionaries mainly from the
French Catholic church (Hitti, 1963). Before long, the French Catholics