Reform in the Post-Colonial Moment: Khaled Abou El Fadl's Rehabilitation of Islamic Law and Ethics

This dissertation critically examines the reform project of Khaled Abou El Fadl, a prominent American Muslim scholar, by analyzing his scholarly writings, public engagements, and institutional efforts over the past twenty-five years. It argues that his work constitutes a post-colonial response to the crisis of Islamic law and ethics, shaped by the combined effects of colonialism and Wahhabism. The study organizes his project into three interdependent dimensions: an engagement with the premodern Islamic tradition, a critique of the modern condition of Islam, and proposals for contemporary reform. It further distinguishes between two broad trajectories within his reform work—technical legal reasoning and theological-ethical reflection—and traces how each is articulated across textual, performative, and institutional registers. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including Abou El Fadl’s academic publications, engaged writings, sermons, and fatwas, the dissertation sifts between these dimensions and levels to reconstruct the cumulative argument and practice of reform in his thought, highlighting the internal tensions, shifting emphases, and conceptual strategies that define his approach. In doing so, it situates his work within broader conversations about tradition, authority, and decolonial thought in Islamic studies.