Journal of Analytic Divinity

Abstract

Abstract: The work titled “Die Festung des Glaubens: Triumph und Scheitern des islamischen Rationalismus im 11. Jahrhundert” (The Fortress of Faith: The Victory and Failure of 11th Century Islamic Rationalism) which I have reviewed, focused on Islamic theology and history, Islamic thought, the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad. In this book, Tilman Nagel, a retired lecturer at Göttingen University, who draws attention with his studies in Germany in recent years, explains the rational reasons why the Islamic world started to decline since the 11th century, through the way of thinking of the famous Ash'ari theologian Juveynî. The book consists of an introduction, two parts and a conclusion. The two main parts of the book analyzes the themes of Faith, Law/Shariah and Power/Politics. It presents a regression theory based on the claim that Muslims closed themselves in the Fortress of Faith as of the 11th century. Expressing that they could not realize that the Muslims who imprisoned themselves in an ideological fortress were in the recession process, but the famous Ash'ari theologian Juwayni could realize this, he tried to find answers to the causes of the regression process by centered on Juwayni. He puts forward a theory of regression based on the claim that Muslims closed themselves in Faith Castles as of the 11th century. Expressing that they could not realize that the Muslims who imprisoned themselves in an ideological fortress were in the recession process, but the famous Ash'ari theologian Juwayni could realize this, he tried to find answers to the causes of the regression process by centered on Juwayni. In this review article, Tilman Nagel's views on the causes of the decline of the Islamic world have been examined by focusing on this book.