Maududi and Shariati: Muslim Encounters with Liberation Theology and Critical Theory

Is it time for Muslim states to rewrite their constitutions? Most readers might assume this as a question arising from recent political upheavals in places like Tunisia, Egypt, and Pakistan (Maboudi 2019; Mcarthy 2018; Wolf 2017; El-Ghobashy 2021;  Agrama 2012; Siddique 2013) . But the question regarding the need for new laws inside Muslim states is not a new one. Many have mapped the thoughts of Syed Qutb, Hasan al-Bannah, Maududi, Khomeini, ‘Abd al Karim Soroush, and al-Naʿim ((Euben and Zaman 2009; Oh 2007; Nasr 2001, Kelsay 2007,   al-Naʿim 2010 ) . We have also seen sharp comparative projects between Islamic and western political ethics (Oh 2007; Nolan 2016; Johnson and Kelsay 1999; Sachedina 2001, 2009). But what if a comparison can be drawn between contemporaneous and ‘contiguously’ situated thinkers? We focus on two scholars: Maududi in British India (1903-79) and Ali Shariati (d. 1977) in neighboring Iran.  Both authors of this series make comparisons with western political ethics and philosophy as we introspect about our chosen Muslim ethicists and their critique of neo-imperialist establishments. Why compare Maududi and Shariati? We attempt to shift the field of Islamic political ethics from a ‘comparison of reasons’ to a comparison of the ‘contiguity of space and time’ occupied by the two thinkers. Instead of focusing on Maududi as a luminary amongst the Muslim revivalists, or as a lone Muslim thinker from South Asia, we aim to recalibrate the landscape of Muslim ethics and juxtapose Maududi and Shariati before our readers.