Prof. Watt’s Sympathy

I am very sad to hear that Prof. Montgomery Watt passed away. I was fond of his works since a long time ago and I wanted to write a book on his approach in studying Islam one day. His study of Prophet Muhammad’s biography was very interesting. As a Muslim, I saw that Prof. Watt had been writing the history of prophet’s life with friendly spirit.

All Prof. Watt’s books on Islam arose from the similar spirit, namely spirit of amity toward the Muslim world. Prof. Watt saw Islam with an ecumenist spirit, if I may use this term. I always remember when Prof. Watt more or less said this in What is Islam?: “If Islam means submission to the ultimate truth, to God as the source of the truth, then you may call me a Muslim (in the essence)”.

The Islamic studies in the West always develop. It started as a part of polemic against Islam, and it afterward developed as a “means” to support the colonial domination upon the Muslim world, and now it develops further as part of Western society’s attempt to build mutual understanding among human civilizations.

The nature of Islamic studies in the West has become sympathetic toward the Muslim world, while popular conception of “orientalism” in the Muslim world remains stagnant. And I am very sad to see these contradictions. While West advances with the more sympathetic studies on Islam, there is almost no progress in regard with Muslim’s academic attempt to study Christian religion and civilization with the similar spirit.

On the more popular level, this contradiction seems miserable. While the West has delivered “popular authors” such as Karen Armstrong who wrote several sympathetic books on Islam and the history of Prophet Muhammad, we do not find similar attempt in the Muslim world.

While many Muslims were happy to see an ex-nun (Armstrong) wrote sympathetically about Islam, they forgot that none of Muslims hold the similar attempt upon Christianity. I am sad because the most popular Muslim’s works on Christian among the grass roots were books of “cheap polemic” written by Ahmad Deedat and others.

Of course, cynical attitudes toward Islam in the West were remaining, as it were among Muslims. However, Western sympathy upon the Muslim world such as the works of Prof. Montgomery Watt obtain unsufficient attention.

By saying this, I do not mean that Prof. Watt had no critical observation about Islam. Prof. Watt was involved in the translation of prophet’s biography, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, written by Al-Tabari. In the foreword of his translation, Prof. Watt conveyed critical observation on the sources of the prophet’s early life (read “The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at Mecca”, vol. VI). Nevertheless, Prof. Watt’s criticism was still within enthusiasm to study Islam in sympathetic way.

I always hope that Prof. Watt’s sympathy will be responded by equal attempt from Muslims. Farewell, Prof. Watt!