Language, Power, and Pluralism: Decolonizing Islamic Discourse through Abu Zayd’s Hermeneutics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33367/tribakti.v36i2.7012Keywords:
Language and Power, Religious Pluralism, , Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, , Decolonization of Islamic ThoughtAbstract
This study aims to investigate how Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd employs language as a site of power and resistance in the reinterpretation of Islamic texts and the promotion of religious pluralism. It focuses on how his linguistic-hermeneutical approach challenges dominant literalist paradigms and contributes to the development of inclusive Islamic theology. The research adopts a qualitative methodology through textual analysis of Abu Zayd’s major works, complemented by a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework. Key concepts such as language, power, and authority in interpretation are examined to understand how Abu Zayd reconstructs religious meaning within the context of sociopolitical realities. The findings reveal that Abu Zayd’s philosophy of language subverts literalist and hegemonic interpretations by promoting a dynamic, context-sensitive, and pluralistic reading of Islamic texts rooted in lived human experience. His hermeneutics exposes the embedded power relations in religious discourse and offers a critical lens for deconstructing interpretative authority. By foregrounding the role of language in shaping theological narratives, this study contributes to the decolonization of Islamic discourse and highlights Abu Zayd’s hermeneutics as a foundation for developing an emancipatory and pluralist Islamic theology, particularly relevant for Muslim communities beyond the dominant Arab-Western paradigms. This research contributes to the decolonization of Islamic studies by demonstrating how linguistic awareness and interpretive plurality can challenge hegemonic discourses, reclaim interpretative agency, and open new spaces for contextual and inclusive Islamic thought, especially within postcolonial Muslim societies.
References
Aderibigbe, Semiyu Adejare, Mesut Idriz, Khadeegha Alzouebi, Hussain AlOthman, Wafa Barhoumi Hamdi, and Assad Asil Companioni. “Fostering Tolerance and Respect for Diversity through the Fundamentals of Islamic Education.” Religions 14, no. 2 (February 3, 2023): 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020212.
Akbar, Ali, and Abdullah Saeed. “A Critique of the Concept of Ḥākimiyya: Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd’s Approach.” Religions 13, no. 11 (November 14, 2022): 1100. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13111100.
Alatas, Syed Farid. “Alternative Discourses in Asian Social Sciences: Responses to Eurocentrism.” Sage Publications вы12у, no. 235 (2007): 245. http://digilib.unila.ac.id/4949/15/BAB II.pdf.
Asadu, George C., Nicholas Asogwa, and Benjamin C. Diara. “Religious Pluralism and Its Implications for Church Development.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 76, no. 3 (July 28, 2020). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5955.
———. “Religious Pluralism and Its Implications for Church Development.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 76, no. 3 (July 28, 2020): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5955.
Bano, Neelam, Humaira Ahmad, Javaria Hassan, and Rafia Razaq. “Principles of Religious Pluralism.” Religions 14, no. 1 (December 22, 2022): 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010020.
Benarrivo, Renaldo. “TEORITISASI DIALOG LINTAS AGAMA DALAM KAJIAN HUBUNGAN INTERNASIONAL KONTEMPORER.” Jurnal Dinamika Global 7, no. 01 (June 28, 2022): 106–21. https://doi.org/10.36859/jdg.v7i01.975.
Coşgel, Metin M., Jungbin Hwang, Thomas J. Miceli, and Sadullah Yıldırım. “Religiosity: Identifying the Effect of Pluralism.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 158 (February 2019): 219–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.11.018.
Cummings, Rachel, Gabriel Kaptchuk, and Elissa M. Redmiles. “‘I Need a Better Description’: An Investigation Into User Expectations For Differential Privacy.” In Proceedings of the 2021 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security, 3037–52. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1145/3460120.3485252.
Fairclough, Norman. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2010. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=nf7cAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=id#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Fairlamb, Samuel, and Marco Cinnirella. “To Be or Not to Be Tolerant? A Terror Management Perspective Exploring the Ideological Dilemma of Tolerance and Prejudice.” British Journal of Social Psychology 60, no. 2 (April 20, 2021): 360–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12407.
Foli, Karen J., Amanda Choflet, Deborah Matthias‐Anderson, Maile Mercer, Roy A. Thompson, and Allison Squires. “The Power of the Language We Use: Stigmatization of Individuals and Fellow Nurses with Substance Use Issues.” Research in Nursing & Health 46, no. 1 (February 26, 2023): 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22295.
Garnes-Tarazona, Inmaculada. “Discriminatory Discourses against Morocco and Moroccan Immigrants in the Spanish Context. A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of ‘Jovenlandia/Jovenlandés’ (Youthland/Youthlandian) on X.” Discourse & Communication, October 6, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/17504813241285907.
Howick, J, P Glasziou, and Jk Aronson. “Can Understanding Mechanisms Solve the Problem of Extrapolating from Study to Target Populations (the Problem of ‘External Validity’)?” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 106, no. 3 (March 12, 2013): 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076813476498.
Hunowu, Momy, Kartini Kamaruzzaman, Hatim Badu Pakuna, and Ahmad Khoirul Fata. “RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES: Comparing Gorontalo, Indonesia and Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.” MIQOT: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman 49, no. 1 (July 1, 2025): 222. https://doi.org/10.30821/miqot.v49i1.1350.
Iyer, Bharatwaj. “The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī.” Religions 14, no. 7 (July 17, 2023): 923. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070923.
Kalagy, Tehila, and Orna Braun-Lewensohn. “Diversity Management in the Integration of Minorities in the Job Market: Policies and Practices.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 43, no. 9/10 (August 22, 2023): 838–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-09-2022-0228.
Konigsburg, Joyce Ann. “Religious Pluralism: Transforming Society Using New Concepts of Evangelization and Dialogue.” Religions 14, no. 1 (January 6, 2023): 80. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010080.
Kouri Kissel, Teresa. “Metalinguistic Negotiation and Logical Pluralism.” Synthese 198, no. S20 (August 28, 2021): 4801–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02264-z.
Lee, Tuck Leong. “Interculturality in Interfaith Dialogue.” International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education 6, no. 1 (January 1, 2021): 78–95. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJBIDE.2021010106.
López-farjeat, Luis Xavier. “Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd’s Use of Classical Theological and Philosophical Islamic Sources in His Qurʾānic Hermeneutics.” Filozofia 79, no. 8 (October 14, 2024): 892–906. https://doi.org/10.31577/filozofia.2024.79.8.4.
Lustig, Andrew, Gavin Brookes, and Daniel Hunt. “Linguistic Analysis of Online Communication About a Novel Persecutory Belief System (Gangstalking): Mixed Methods Study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research 23, no. 3 (March 5, 2021): e25722. https://doi.org/10.2196/25722.
Marzouk, Safwat. “Intercultural Worship and Decolonialization: Insights from the Book of Psalms.” Religions 14, no. 2 (January 28, 2023): 152. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020152.
Mohd Noor, Muaz, S. Salahudin Suyurno, Faridah Mohd Sairi, and Muhammad Rizal Akbar. “Badī‘ Al-Zamān Sa‘Īd Nursī’s Approach through Writing in Da‘wah: A Study of Effective Verbal Communication.” Al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues 8, no. 1 (June 29, 2023): 1068–76. https://doi.org/10.53840/alirsyad.v8i1.374.
Mufid, Abdul, Abd. Kadir Massoweang, Mujizatullah Mujizatullah, Abu Muslim, and Zulkarnain Yani. “Rereading Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd’s Method of Interpreting Religious Texts.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 79, no. 1 (January 31, 2023). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8102.
Muhalim, Muhalim. “Negotiating Religious Discourses in English Language Teaching: Reorienting and Reframing Dominant English Ideologies.” Changing English 30, no. 3 (July 3, 2023): 209–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1358684X.2023.2217424.
Nasr, Hamid Abu Zayd. Reformation of Islamic Thought: A Critical Historical Analysis. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=0UZc_Yvle_AC&printsec=frontcover&hl=id&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Ng, Alenxander, Ching Wee Han, Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, Teoh Chee Keong, Intan Liana Samsudin, and Yusra Zulkifli. “EVALUATION OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ELEMENTS IN SAIDINA ABU BAKAR AS SIDDIQ MOSQUE ON SOCIAL INCLUSION.” Journal of Islamic Architecture 7, no. 1 (June 28, 2022): 120–26. https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v7i1.12899.
Pearson, James S. “Realism in the Ethics of Immigration.” Philosophy & Social Criticism 49, no. 8 (October 22, 2023): 950–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537221079676.
Pölzler, Thomas, and Jennifer Cole Wright. “Anti-Realist Pluralism: A New Approach to Folk Metaethics.” Review of Philosophy and Psychology 11, no. 1 (February 5, 2020): 53–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-019-00447-8.
Porter, Shanette C., Michelle Rheinschmidt-Same, and Jennifer A. Richeson. “Inferring Identity From Language.” Psychological Science 27, no. 1 (January 4, 2016): 94–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615612202.
Pugh, Jonathan. “Genetic Exceptionalism, Revisionism, Pluralism and Convergence in the Ethics of Insurance: Response to Commentators.” Journal of Medical Ethics 48, no. 11 (November 2022): 879–80. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2022-108153.
Rane, Halim. “Interfaith Actor Reception of Islamic Covenants: How ‘New’ Religious Knowledge Influences Views on Interreligious Relations in Islam.” Religions 13, no. 9 (September 19, 2022): 873. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13090873.
Rousseau, David L. “Just War and Ordered Liberty. By Paul D. Miller. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. 278p. $99.99 Cloth, $29.99 Paper.” Perspectives on Politics 20, no. 1 (March 9, 2022): 297–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S153759272100387X.
Sejdini, Zekirija. “Religious Plurality from the Perspective of Islamic Religious Education.” In Rethinking Islam in Europe, 91–112. De Gruyter, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110752410-010.
Sikka, Sonia. “Pluralism About What? Religion as Belief and Identity.” In Re-Thinking Religious Pluralism, 3–19. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9540-0_1.
Todd, Nathan R., Brett A. Boeh, Jaclyn D. Houston‐Kolnik, and Rachael L. Suffrin. “Interfaith Groups as Mediating Structures for Political Action: A Multilevel Analysis.” American Journal of Community Psychology 59, no. 1–2 (March 6, 2017): 106–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12121.
Vaezi, Mahmood. “The Role of Interreligious Dialogues on Religious Tolerance.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 74, no. 3 (November 26, 2018). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i3.5146.
Wekke, Ismail Suardi, and Acep; Firdaus. “HERMENEUTICAL APPROACH TO THE QUR’AN.” Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman 13, no. 2 (December 16, 2018): 455–79. https://doi.org/10.21274/epis.2018.13.2.483-507.
Yasmadi, Yasmadi, Ilya Husna, Fajriyani Arsya, Azizah Rahmah, Martin Kustati, and David D. Perrodin. “Insights from a State Islamic University on Arabic Education as a Catalyst for Religious Moderation in Indonesia.” International Journal of Language Education 8, no. 3 (October 6, 2024): 533–49. https://doi.org/10.26858/ijole.v8i3.66496.
Youssef, Magdi. “Magdi Youssef: Corrections and Refutations.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 47, no. 3 (May 26, 2020): 504–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2020.1763125.
Zhang, Juyan. “Putting Interfaith Dialogue on the Public Diplomacy Radar: Goals, Power, Strategies, and the Influence of Worldviews.” CrossCurrents 72, no. 3 (September 2022): 216–46. https://doi.org/10.1353/cro.2022.0021.
Abstract
Views:
327, 
PDF downloads: 148
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmadi Ahmadi, A. Jauhar Fuad, Hamed A. Ead Fahri Hidayat
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
