Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Faisal Devji on "Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam"

Date: November 22, 2025
Host: Ronak Bose
Guest: Dr. Faisal Devji, Professor of Global and Imperial History at Oxford

Episode Overview

This episode features a rich, in-depth conversation between host Ronak Bose and Dr. Faisal Devji about Devji’s new book Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam (Yale UP, 2025). The discussion explores how Islam emerged as a global subject in the 19th century, its abstraction and decoupling from theological and political foundations, and its possible exhaustion as a vehicle of collective action and identity in the 21st century. Dr. Devji’s arguments challenge conventional, linear, and essentialist narratives, offering counterintuitive and provocative insights into the intellectual, political, and social trajectories of “global Islam.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Intellectual Trajectory and Methodology

• Background of the Book’s Argument (04:18–08:00)
  Dr. Devji outlines his longstanding interest in abstraction, counterfactual thought, and reversal of standard historical narratives:

  • Sees continuity in his exploration of “abstractions that become agents”—such as the Muslim world, Ummah, martyrdom, and now Islam itself.
  • Interest in how reversing dominant stories raises new questions, even at the risk of not being “accurate.”
  • Quote:

    "What I always like to do is to turn things around and see what new questions come to light in that experiment."
    —Dr. Devji (05:43)

• Title Change: From The End of Islam to Waning Crescent (08:00–11:22)

  • The initial title “The End of Islam” foregrounded the concept’s ambiguity and central idea—that Islam could end as a historical actor.
  • Publisher concerns over misinterpretation and attracting “anti-Muslim readers” led to the more organic metaphor of the “Waning Crescent.”
  • Quote:

    “Waning Crescent does signify some of my argument, but it seems to have a more organic character. The moon waxes and wanes, and the crescent of course has a symbol of Islam.”
    —Dr. Devji (10:24)

2. Islam as a Historical Subject: The 19th Century Shift

• Islam Becomes an Abstract Agent (12:01–17:30)

  • Prior to the 19th century, Islam described a set of actions or ritual practices, not a proper name or “actor.”
  • Shift occurs amid European imperial expansion and the weakening of traditional Muslim authorities.
  • Islam emerges as a civilizational or ideological abstraction not rooted in institutions—contrasted with Christianity (church), nation (state), etc.
  • Rival “idols” (nationalism, capitalism, communism) are likewise abstract—idolatry reimagined for the modern era.

  Quote:

  “Islam, always in the imagination of these figures, transcends these institutional boundaries... Islam becomes an abstract agent, without institutional grounding or mediation.”
  —Dr. Devji (14:52)

3. Modern Idolatry and the Absence of God

• Proliferation of New Idols (17:59–24:25)

  • As Islam becomes the subject, God and the Prophet are displaced from theological agency.
  • Modern “idols” (nationalism, monarchy, communism) fill the vacant space left by God, who is now “absent” from political agency.
  • Discussion of Maududi and Khomeini as examples—both attempt to locate sovereignty in God alone, yet in different political-theological registers, leading to new paradoxes of authority.

  Quote:

  “It's only with the setting aside, if not expulsion of God from this set of debates, that the idol comes to take his place or threatens to take his place.”
  —Dr. Devji (18:39)

4. European Production of Islam’s Modernity

• Co-production with Europe (26:13–33:05)

  • Figures like Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and European colonial authorities played a critical role in conceptualizing Islam as a global civilizational subject.
  • This “collaboration” led both sides—Muslims and European powers—to define themselves partly in relation to the other, often through artificial dichotomies (e.g., Islam vs. “the Christian West”).
  • The “globality” of Islam is thus rooted not in authentic continuity but in 19th-century reimaginings.

  Quote:

  “Neither the idea of the west nor that of Islam can do without the other.”
  —Dr. Devji (31:50)

5. The Prophet, Blasphemy, and Secular Offense

• Changing Nature of Dispute and Offense (33:05–42:41)

  • Modern controversies over insults to Muhammad (from colonial India to the Rushdie affair) derive from the Prophet’s loss of political-theological protection and his entry into secular legal frameworks.
  • Blasphemy is replaced by concern for “deeply held feelings” in plural legal systems (e.g., Indian Penal Code)—making Muhammad a symbol more akin to kin or property.
  • The gap between the banality of “libel” and the extremity of violent protest is traced to the absence of meaningful theological discourse.

  Quote:

  “Muhammad...becomes like us in some ways, because after all, it is Islam that is the true subject...he requires protection.”
  —Dr. Devji (34:12)

6. Gender, Abstraction, and Muslim Identity

• Women as Emblematic Subjects of Islam (42:41–49:46)

  • Modernity singles out women (via dress, comportment) as public markers of Islam’s presence; they become the “ideal Muslim subject” due to their lack of sovereignty.
  • Gender distinction is enforced through measurable performance (dress/behavior), not biology; provides insight into Iran’s embrace of gender reassignment surgery and the fluidity of gender concepts in some Muslim societies.

  Quote:

  “Muslim women become ideal Muslim subjects in this period with surprising consequences.”
  —Dr. Devji (48:52)

7. Waning Crescent: The Decline of Islam as Global Actor

• From Islam Back to Muslims (49:46–56:50)

  • From the Arab Spring, to protests in India, Iran, Bangladesh, and the US (e.g., Zoran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign), Islam is notable for its absence as a mobilizing force—while individual Muslim identity remains salient.
  • Suggests a possible end to Islam’s global subjecthood: abstraction has “run its course,” leaving room for renewed interest in lived religious practice and plural identities.

  Quote:

  “...the Muslim has replaced Islam in that sense. And that is, you know, it's worth thinking about.”
  —Dr. Devji (56:24)

8. Reflections on Scholarship and Future Research

• Rethinking Scholarly Fixations (57:21–62:39)

  • Devji urges scholars to move beyond “exoticism” and a narrow focus on clerics or theological texts.
  • Calls for an integrated history recognizing the modernity and interconnectedness of Islamic narratives (“Islamic history does not exist on its own. It is part of global or world history...”).

  Quote:

  “The irony of focusing on all this other religious stuff, given what kind of agent Islam has become, never ceases to amaze me.”
  —Dr. Devji (62:29)

• Next Projects (62:43–64:11)

  • Devji announces forthcoming work on Muhammad Iqbal and a major study on the “return of civil war” to the political imagination—a further pursuit of ends and transitions beyond Eurocentric world history.

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On the methodological origins of the book: (05:43)

  “I always try to think about what any historical phenomenon might look like if you reverse the standard narratives…”

• On abstraction and Islam’s modernity: (14:52)

  “Islam becomes an abstract agent, without institutional grounding or mediation.”

• On the paradox of sovereignty: (21:49)

  “Modudi's conception of sovereignty ... results in the return of sovereignty in its more Schmittian form as an exception.”

• On gender and agency: (48:52)

  “Muslim women become ideal Muslim subjects in this period with surprising consequences.”

• On the post-Islamic subject: (56:24)

  “...the Muslim has replaced Islam in that sense. And that is, you know, it's worth thinking about.”

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Intellectual Trajectory: 01:48–08:00
• Title Debate & Rationale: 08:00–11:22
• 19th Century Shift to “Global Islam”: 12:01–17:30
• Modern Idolatry & Loss of God’s Centrality: 17:59–24:25
• European Participation in Islamic Subjectivity: 26:13–33:05
• Blasphemy, Secular Legalism, and Muhammad’s Vulnerability: 33:05–42:41
• Gender and the Abstraction of Islamic Subjecthood: 42:41–49:46
• Contemporary Movements & Waning Islamic Global Agency: 49:46–56:50
• Scholarly Reflections & Future Research: 57:21–64:11

Conclusion

This episode provides a sweeping, nuanced, and sometimes provocative exploration of how “Islam” became a global historical actor—only to perhaps exhaust itself as abstraction in contemporary times. Dr. Devji challenges listeners and scholars alike to revisit familiar narratives about religion, modernity, and identity, and to consider the implications of Islam’s “waning crescent” for both scholarly inquiry and lived experience.