Jonathan A.C. Brown
| Jonathan A.C. Brown | |
|---|---|
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| Born | August 9, 1977 Washington, D.C, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Institutions | Georgetown University (2010-) University of Washington (2006-2010) |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University (B.A.) University of Chicago (Ph.D.) |
| Thesis | The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: the Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (2006) |
| Doctoral advisor | Wadad Kadi |
| Influences | Fred Donner |
| Website www |
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Jonathan A.C. Brown (born 1977) is a Muslim American Islamic scholar and author. Since 2012, he has been associate professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. In 2014, he was appointed Chair of Islamic Civilization. He is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law.
He has authored several texts including Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy and The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim. He has published articles in the fields of Hadith, Islamic law, Salafism, Sufism, and Arabic language.
Contents
Biography
Brown was born on August 9, 1977 in Washington, DC. He was named after his father, Johanathan Brown. His family was Episcopalian Christian.[1]
[2] He was raised as an Anglican and converted to Islam in 1997.[3] Brown graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2000 from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., studied Arabic for a year at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University of Cairo, and completed his doctorate in Islamic thought at the University of Chicago in 2006.[4]
From 2006 to 2010 he taught in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at the University of Washington in Seattle, and since 2010 has been Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.[4] He is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[5]
He has written on Hadith, Islamic law, Sufism, Arabic lexical theory and Pre-Islamic poetry and is currently focused on the history of forgery and historical criticism in Islamic civilization and modern conflicts between late Sunni Traditionalism and Salafism in Islamic Thought.[6] His research has taken him to Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, India and Iran among others.[4]
Writing
Misquoting Muhammad
In his book Misquoting Muhammad, Brown argues that the “depth and breadth” of the early Muslim scholars’ achievement in assessing the authenticity of saying and texts “dwarfed” that of the fathers of the Christian church.[7] The book received many positive reviews, and was named as one of the top books on religion of 2014 by The Independent.[8]
Controversial views on slavery
In a 2017 article, Brown has argued that "the term ‘slavery’ is so ambiguous as to be functionally useless for the purposes of discussing extreme domination and exploitation across history". For example, some slaves, such as certain Ottoman officials, ruled over free people, while some forms of slavery-like exploitation were not classified as slavery. Brown further wrote that while practices qualified as "modern-day slavery" are morally reprehensible, if one applies its common definition to pre-modern societies, one would have to conclude that "almost no one was free". He proposed that historical study of slavery should focus on power relations and conditions of those subjected to domination rather use of the term itself.[9] A lecture delivered at Georgetown University presenting this article,[10] and in particular comments Brown made during the Q&A session have been interpreted by some commentators as defending slavery and non-consensual sex.[11][12][13] In response, Brown wrote on Twitter, "Islam as a faith and I as a person condemn slavery, rape and concubinage."[14]
Publications
Books authored
- Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy, Oneworld Publications, 2014 | 384 p | ISBN 978-1780744209
- Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2011 | 160 p | ISBN 978-0199559282
- Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, Oneworld Publications, Foundations of Islam series, 2009 | 320 p | ISBN 978-1851686636
- The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon, Brill Publishers, 2007 | 434 p | ISBN 978-9004158399
Articles
- "Is Islam Easy to Understand or Not?: Salafis, the Democratization of Interpretation and the Need for the Ulama". Journal of Islamic Studies (2014).
- "Even if it’s not True it’s True: Using Unreliable Hadiths in Sunni Islam." Islamic Law and Society 18 (2011): 1-52.
- "The Canonization of Ibn Majah: Authenticity vs. Utility in the Formation of the Sunni Hadith Canon." Revue des Mondes Musalmans et de la Medeterranee 129 (2011): 171-83.
- "Did the Prophet Say It or Not?: the Literal, Historical and Effective Truth of Hadiths in Sunni Islam". Journal of the American Oriental Society 129.2 (2009): 259-85.
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- “New Data on the Delateralization of Dad and its Merger with Za’ in Classical Arabic: Contributions from Old South Arabian and the Earliest Islamic Texts on D / Z Minimal Pairs,” Journal of Semitic Studies 52, no.2 (2007): 335-368.
- "The Last Days of al-Ghazzali and the Tripartite Division of Sufi World: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Letter to the Seljuq Vizier and Commentary." The Muslim World 96, no. 1 (2006): 89-113.
- "Criticism of the Proto-Hadith Canon: al-Daraqutni's Adjustment of al-Bukhari and Muslim's Sahihs." Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies 15/1 (2004): 1-37.
- The Social Context of Pre-Islamic Poetry: Poetic Imagery and Social Reality in the Mu'allaqat." Arab Studies Quarterly 25/3 (2003): 29-50.
Book Reviews
- "Review of The Encyclopedia of Canonical Hadith," Journal of Islamic Studies 19, n. 3 (2008): 391-97.
References
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- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/26/AR2010062603963.html
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://www18.georgetown.edu/data/people/brownj2/cv.pdf
- ↑ http://www.cfr.org/about/membership/roster.html?letter=B
- ↑ http://www.patheos.com/About-Patheos/Jonathan-Brown.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/books-of-the-year-2014-the-best-books-on-religion-9921799.html
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External links
- Official website of Jonathan A.C. Brown
- Lectures by Jonathan Brown from Halal Tube
- A Brief History Of Hadith Collection And Criticism Lecture on YouTube
- An Introduction to Hadith, Lecture at the Islamic Institute of Orange City
- Abiding Stereotypes about the Prophet Muhammad in the Medieval and Modern West, Lecture at George Mason University
- An interview with Jonathan Brown, Sources and Methods podcast episode #22
- Shari'ah, Violence, and Contemporary Issues, lecture at Bayan Claremont.
