The Closing of the Muslim Mind

About The Closing of the Muslim Mind

The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis by Robert R. Reilly examines the historical and theological foundations of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism. The work focuses on a specific period in the history of Islamic doctrines where a struggle over the role of reason ultimately reshaped the intellectual life of Islamic countries.

The book traces a pivotal conflict within Islamic civilization nearly a millennium ago between two competing theological schools: the Mu’tazilites, who advocated for the primacy of reason and the existence of natural law, and the Ash’arites, who prioritized the absolute will of God over rational inquiry. The narrative explores how the eventual victory of Ash’arism led to a rejection of Hellenistic philosophy and the de-emphasis of cause and effect in the natural world. This shift in doctrine is presented as the primary cause for the decline of scientific inquiry and the emergence of a specific spiritual pathology. The text analyzes how this theological framework influenced the development of Islamic doctrines regarding morality, law, and politics, leading to what the author describes as a deeply dysfunctional culture.

In analyzing the long-term consequences of this intellectual shift, the book addresses the