Herbert Berg

Research Agenda

My research focuses on Islamic origins particularly Ibn ‘Abbas — the most significant quranic exegete of the formative period of Islam — and on African American Islam particularly Elijah Muhammad — the leader of the Nation of Islam for four decades and the most significant African American Muslim exegete of the Qur’an. At first glance, 7th century Arabia and 20th century America seem somewhat removed from each other, but they are not. Both subjects are unified in three related ways:

I examine how Muslims have understood, employed, and interpreted their scripture, the Qur’an. Early exegesis of the Qur’an bears several striking similarities with the methods employed by Elijah Muhammad, to introduce, “canonize,” and explicate the Qur’an.
Both early Islam and the Nation of Islam formed in complex milieux of, and in competition with, other religions. Much has been made of the Judeo-Christian sectarian milieu out of which the Qur’an emerged, and later as a maturing Islam interacted with the more established variations of Judaism and Christianity, as well as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. Similarly, the Nation of Islam was in direct competition with Black Christianity. These various formulations of Islam cannot be understood in isolation.
I am particularly interested in how groups who define themselves as “religious” construct their identities, perpetuate their groups, and legitimize authority structures. For both groups of Muslims whom I study, the Qur’an and its exegesis are central to these constructions, perpetuations, and legitimizations (for which I employ the technical terminology of “mythmaking” and “social formation”).

More specifically, my work on Islamic origins examines the authenticity of the foundational texts, such as the Qur’an, the biography of the Prophet (or sīra), his Sunna, and quranic exegesis (or tafsīr). Thus far I have focused on reports (called hadiths), which are attributed to the earliest generations of Muslims. Hadiths form not only the foundation of much of Islamic law, but also Islamic history and Muslim understanding of the Qur’an. The goal of this research is to understand early Islamic “mythmaking”—that is to say, the social activity in which a group authorizes its identity and the role it sees for itself in the world at large and in relation to others. The next phase in this research is to examine how, when, and where the mythic status of Ibn `Abbas and his father al-`Abbas were produced. My basic theses are:

Al-`Abbas's biography is almost entirely the product of pro- and anti-`Abbasid propaganda;
Ibn `Abbas's status also began largely as pro-`Abbasid propaganda, but then took on a life of its own, especially in the early years after the `Abbasid revolution. Later, when the `Abbasids no longer needed to justify their rule, it became acceptable to criticize and contradict Ibn `Abbas. In fact, it became necessary because his earlier status resulted in too many contradictory statements being attributed to him.
Ibn `Abbas was important because, while his father could be used for legal justification by Abbasid propagandists, his father could not be used for religious justification. This is largely due to the fact that the biography of al-`Abbas as found in the Sira and elsewhere was too well established. Only justifications for his late conversion and hijra could be added. Thus, for religious justification, Ibn `Abbas, the exegete, was "created."

All of this is, of course, set against pro-Alid and other Shi'i propaganda and will entail examining several more generations of ‘Abbasids including their early caliphal religio-political discourse.

The other area of my research examines how Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam for 40 years, understood, employed, and interpreted the Qur’an. In so doing, I again examine how his Nation of Islam created, renewed, and sustained its group identity and its authorities. In other words, I explore its mythmaking. Having already examined Elijah Muhammad and the Qur’an, I hope to further examine the production of religious authority by examining the construction, implementation, and authorizing of the concept of “prophet” which Elijah Muhammad seems to have adopted directly from African American Christianity and not traditional Islam.

I hope that these two avenues of research will continue to make a significant contribution to our understanding of Islam. In the study of early Islam, I argue that scholars have for too long sanguinely accepted the truth claims and authority of early Islamic “historical” texts. I have tried to demonstrate that these texts record, not what happened, but what the early Muslim community believed had happened. In the study of Elijah Muhammad, I am the only scholar who treats him as a religious figure in Islam. For various reasons, other scholars have analyzed him from the perspective of politics, sociology, economics, etc., but almost never from the perspective of the study of religion.

More generally and with respect to the study of religion, the importance of my research as a whole lies in the aforementioned categories of mythmaking and social formation, both of which feature prominently in my work on Islamic origins and African American Islam. The use of the word “myth” within religious studies should not be confused with the common usage. Myths are neither dismissed as impotent and largely irrelevant falsehoods, nor reified into powerful and profound truths (though some scholars of religion do so). Rather, they are the product of a ordinary human activity. In other words, a “myth” is an ordinary rhetorical device in social construction and maintenance that makes a particular social identity possible and legitimizes one’s own self-image. These rhetorical acts that construct and maintain identity are called mythmaking. Simply put, mythmaking is a social activity in which the group authorizes its identity and the role it sees for itself in the world (and/or beyond this world). Therefore, to focus on mythmaking and social formation is to focus on the key ways in which religious groups form, distinguish themselves from others, and perpetuate themselves.

Monographs

Elijah Muhammad and Islam. New York: New York University Press, 2009.
The Development of Exegesis in Early Islam: The Debate over the Authenticity of Muslim Literature from the Formative Period. Richmond: Curzon Press, 2000.

Edited Volumes

Method and Theory in the Study of Islamic Origins, edited Herbert Berg. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
Islamic Origins Reconsidered: John Wansbrough and the Study of Early Islam, edited by Herbert Berg. Special Issue of Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 9.1 (1997).

Articles in Refereed Journals and Collected Works

“The Isnād and the Production of Cultural Memory: Ibn ‘Abbās as a Case Study.” Numen (forthcoming).
“Abbasid Historians’ Portrayals of al-‘Abbās b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib.” Abbasid Studies II: Occasional Papers of the School of Abbasid Studies, Leuven, 28 June – 1 July 2004, edited by John Nawas, 13–38. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 177. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, In Press 2010.
“The Historical Muhammad and the Historical Jesus: A Comparison of Scholarly Reinventions and Reinterpretations,” with Sarah Rollens. Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, 32.2 (2008): 271–292.
“Early African American Muslim Movements and the Qur’an.” Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 8.1 (2006): 22–37.
“Context: Muhammad.” Blackwell Companion to the Qur’ān, edited by Andrew Rippin, 187–204. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
“Mythmaking in the African American Muslim Context: The Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, and the Muslim Society of America.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 73.3 (2005): 685–703.
“Ibn ‘Abbās in `Abbāsid-Era Tafsīr.” Abbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of Abbasid Studies, Cambridge 6–10 July 2002, edited by James E. Montgomery, 129–146. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 135. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2004.
“Competing Paradigms in the Study of Islamic Origins: Qur’ān 15:89-91 and the Value of Isnāds.” Methods and Theories in the Study of Islamic Origins, edited by Herbert Berg, 259–290. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
“Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of tafsīr.” In With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Barry D. Walfish, and Joseph W. Goering, 329–345. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
“Elijah Muhammad and the Qur’ān: The Evolution of His Tafsīr.” Muslim World 89 (1999): 42–55.“Elijah Muhammad: An African American Muslim mufassir?” Arabica: Revue d’études Arabes 45 (1998): 320–346.
“The Implications of, and Opposition to, the Methods and Theories of John Wansbrough.” Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 9.1 (1997): 3–22. Reprinted in The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, edited by Ibn Warraq, 489–509. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2000.
“Tabarī’s Exegesis of the Qur’ānic Term al-kitāb.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 63.4 (1995): 761–774.

Book Reviews

The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Hadīth Canon by Jonathan Brown. Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies, 71.3 (2008): 570–572.
Mecca and Eden: Ritual, Relics, and Territory in Islam by Brannon Wheeler. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 75 (2007): 156–158.
The Cultural Roots of American Islamicism by Timothy Marr. Journal of Church and State 49 (2007): 355–357.Virtues of the Flesh: Passion and Purity in Early Islamic Jurisprudence by Ze'ev Maghen. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 38 (2006): 453–454.
Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation by John Wansbrough with Foreword, Translations, and Expanded Notes by Andrew Rippin. The Journal of Religion, 86.1 (2006): 162–163.
The Formation of the Classical Tafsīr Tradition: The Qur’ān Commentary of al-Tha‘labī (d. 427/1035) by Walid A. Saleh. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 37:4 (2005): 617–618.
Teaching Islam edited by Brannon M. Wheeler. AAR Teaching Religious Studies. Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, 33.3–4 (2004): 497–499.
Jewish and Islamic Law: A Comparative Study of Custom during the Geonic Period by Gideon Libson. Islamic Law and Society, 11.3 (2004): 408–410.
Islamic Humanism by Lenn E. Goodman. International Philosophical Quarterly, 44.2 (2004): 280–281.
The Origins of Islamic Jurisprudence: Meccan Fiqh before the Classical Schools by Harald Motzki. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 36 (2004): 288–289.
The Essential Max Müller: On Language, Mythology, and Religion edited by Jon R. Stone. Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, 32.1–2 (2003): 234.
The Development of Early Sunnite Hadith Criticism: The Taqdima of Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (240/854–327/938) by Eerik Dickinson. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 34.4 (2002): 735–736.
Suffering in the Mu‘tazilite Theology: ‘Abd al-Jabbar’s Teaching on Pain and Divine Justice, by Margaretha T. Heemskerk. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 34.4 (2002): 740–741.
Between Bible and Qur’an: The Children of Israel and the Islamic Self-Image by Uri Rubin. Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies, 65.1 (2002): 140–141.
Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism by Haideh Moghissi. Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, 30.1 (2001): 116–117.
The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book edited by Ibn Warraq. Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies, 62.3 (October 1999): 557–558.
Mapping Islamic Studies: Genealogy, Continuity and Change edited by Azim Nanji. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 119.3 (July–September 1999): 544–545.
Charakter und Authentie der muslimischen Überlieferung über das Leben Muhammeds by Gregor Schoeler. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 119.2 (April–June 1999): 315–317.
A Popular Dictionary of Islam by Ian Richard Netton. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 56.1 (January 1997): 53.The Political Aspects of Islamic Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Muhsin S. Mahdi edited by Charles E. Butterworth. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 56.1 (January 1997): 51–52.
Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence by Norman Calder. Journal of Church and State 37.1 (Winter 1995): 180–181.Principles of Sufism by al-Qushayri translated by B.R. Von Schlegell. Journal of Semitic Studies 39.2 (Autumn 1994): 389–390.
Verbal Idioms of the Qur’ān by Mustansir Mir. Al-Masāq: Studia Arabo-Islamica Mediterranea 7 (1994): 279–282.

Encyclopedia Articles

“Muhammad, Elijah.” Encyclopedia of Muslim American History, edited by Edward E. Curtis IV. New York: Facts On File, forthcoming.
“Nation of Islam.” Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, edited by Gerhard Böwering. Princeton: Princeton University Press, forthcoming.
“Elijah Muhammad.” Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, edited by Gerhard Böwering. Princeton: Princeton University Press, forthcoming.
“Polysemy.” Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2004. IV:155–158.
“African American Muslims and the Qur’ān.” Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2001. I:30–32.
“Computers and the Qur’ān.” Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2001. I:391–395.

Translations

Miklos Muranyi, “Eine Qairawāner Unikat in der British Library: Das Samā‘-Werk des ibn al-Qāsim al-‘Utaqī [A Unique Manuscript from in the British Library: The Samā‘-Work of Ibn al-Qāsim al-‘Utaqī].” In Methods and Theories in the Study of Islamic Origins, edited by Herbert Berg, 325–368. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
Gregor Schoeler, “Grundlagen für eine neue Mohammed-Biographie: Erstellung und Auswertung des Korpus der Traditionen nach ‘Urwa b. al-Zubayr [Foundations for a New Biography of Muhammad: The Production and Evaluation of the Corpus of Traditions according to ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr].” In Methods and Theories in the Study of Islamic Origins, edited by Herbert Berg, 21–28. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
A. Fischer, “Eine Qorân-Interpolation [A Quranic Interpolation].” In What the Koran Really Says, edited by Ibn Warraq, 436–461. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2002.
A. Fischer, “Zu Sûra 101,6 [Regarding Qur’ān 101:6].” In What the Koran Really Says, edited by Ibn Warraq, 462–465. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2002.

Papers at Refereed Conferences

“Early African American Muslims and the Figure of Jesus: Drew Ali’s and Elijah Muhammad’s Formulations of an ‘unIslamic’ Muslim Jesus,” Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November 22, 2009.
“Teaching Critical Theories of the Qur’an,” The Qur’an in the Classroom: Pedagogical Challenges and Opportunities, Society of Biblical Literature 2009 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November 22, 2009.
“‘Revisionist’ Tafsīr,” The Qur’an: Text, Interpretation & Translation Conference 2007, Centre of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, November 8, 2007.
“Islamic Origins and Christian Origins: Re-mythologizing Founder Figures,” Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion (SECSOR), Southeastern Regional Meeting 2007, Nashville, March 17, 2007.
“The Historical Muhammad and the Historical Jesus: A Comparison of Scholarly Reinvention and Reinterpretation,” with Sarah Rollens, The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion Conference, University of California Davis, January 27, 2007.
“Islam and Extreme Longevity,” Radical Life Extension: What Religions Have to Say, American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Washington, November 20, 2006.
“Early African American Muslims Movements and the Qur’an,” The Qur’an: Text, Interpretation & Translation Conference 2005, Centre of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, November 11, 2005.
“Covering the Dead: How al-Jazeera and CNN Use Images of War Casualties to Determine How We See War,” Representations of War in Visual Culture, University of Wales Swansea, April 22, 2005.
“‘Abbāsid Historians Portrayals of al-‘Abbās b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib,” Seventh Conference of the School of ‘Abbāsid Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, June 26, 2004. “The Use of Ibn ‘Abbās by ‘Abbāsid-Era Exegetes,” Sixth Conference of the School of ‘Abbāsid Studies, University of Cambridge, July 6, 2002.
Mythmaking in the African American Muslim Context: The Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, and the Muslim Society of America,” Yvonne Y. Haddad Symposium at the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion Annual Meeting, University of Toronto, May 27, 2002.
“Competing Paradigms in Islamic Origins: Manufacturing Islamic (Salvation?) History.” American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Boston, November 22, 1999.
“The Earliest Expressions of Islam among African-Americans, Part 2: The Perspectives of the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam.” American Academy of Religion (Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion) Regional Meeting, Knoxville, March 21, 1998.
“Elijah Muhammad and the Qur’ān: The Evolution of His Tafsīr.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, San Francisco, November 25, 1997.
“Proving the Authenticity of Early Exegetical Hadīth: The Attempts of Heribert Horst and Georg Stauth.” With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. University of Toronto, May 12, 1997.
“Qur’ān 15:91 ‘those who ripped apart the Qur’ān’.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Chicago, November 21, 1994.
“Qur’ān and kitāb in al-Tabarī,” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Washington, November 22, 1993.
“Early Muslim Exegesis of the Qur’ānic Term al-kitāb,” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion, Learned Societies Conference, Ottawa, June 9, 1993.
“Al-Tabarī’s Uncertainty Regarding the Qur’ānic Concept of the ‘Book’,” Centre for the Study of Religion Student Symposium, University of Toronto, May 28, 1993.
“Development of Āyah in the Qur’ān,” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion, Learned Societies Conference, Victoria, May 21, 1990.

Invited Papers

“The Isnād and the Production of Cultural Memory: Ibn ‘Abbās as a Case Study.” Georgetown University, March 1, 2010.
“Al-‘Abbas and ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas in Early Islamic Religio-Political Propaganda.” Carleton University, December 9, 2008.
“The Quests for the Historical Muhammad and Jesus.” University of Alabama, April 14, 2008.
“The Qur’an, Drew Ali, and Elijah Muhammad,” Cornell University, October 23, 2007.
“Muhammad in the Qur’ān: A Source for the Historical Muhammad?” University of Alberta, March 7, 2006.
“Mythmaking in the African American Islam,” University of Wales Swansea, February 14, 2005.
“Salvation History versus History,” Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society), University of North Carolina Wilmington, September 15, 1998.
“Elijah Muhammad: An African American Muslim mufassir?” Harvard University, February 18, 1997.
“African American Muslims and Islam: The Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, and the American Muslim Mission,” Telluride House, Cornell University, February 11, 1997.
“The Authenticity of Materials for the Study of Islamic Origins: The Exegetical Traditions,” University of North Carolina Wilmington, January 31, 1997.
“Colonialism, Nationalism, Fundamentalism, and Feminism: The Symbolism of the Veil in Modern Egypt,” Southwestern University, January 15, 1997.
“Muslim Perceptions of Jews and Judaism,” Middlebury College, November 30, 1994.
“Exegetical hadīth and the Western Critique of the isnād System,” Middlebury College, April 1, 1994.