Christine Schirrmacher on Higher Bible Criticism and Muslim Apologetics in Nineteenth-Century India: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

This article reviews a book chapter, “The Influence of Higher Bible Criticism on Muslim Apologetics in the Nineteenth Century”, written by German scholar Christine Schirrmacher. She tells how Muslim scholars used the Christian West’s findings to substantiate their claims in criticizing Christianity. Due to her Western scholarship, this essay gained much significance in European academic circles. That is why every Western scholar quotes Schirrmacher on the topic of Muslim apologetics in nineteenth-century India. Hence, it is important to note how she sees Muslim endeavours against Christian allegations during that period. The main subject of interest is her comprehensive perspective on Raḥmat Allāh al-Kayrānawī and his book Iẓhār al-Ḥaqq. Since her essay is the primary Western source on al-Kayrānawī, it is important to evaluate it and counter her misunderstandings. The research uses qualitative methodology with an analytical and critical approach. For Schirrmacher, nineteenth-century Muslim apologetics is the borrowing of European criticism to refute Christianity, and al-Kayrānawī was the first person to adopt this method. The research concludes that al-Kayrānawī’s approach was not solely influenced by higher Bible criticism and other scholars before him, like Ibn Hazm have also adopted such techniques.