Hans Jansen (1942-2015)

Dialogue Across Borders recently published my paper about Dutch Arabist and scholar of Islam, Prof. Dr. Johannes (Hans) G. Jansen (1942-2015), who rose to prominence in the Netherlands through his scholarship and public criticism of Islam. Through these attacks, he also clashed with people such as the late Rev. Dr. Jan Slomp (1932-2022) who advocated dialogue with Islam. Dr. Slomp asked why I would give him so much attention through a paper. The reason is that Jansen was the director of the Dutch Institute in Cairo when I studied in 1981-1982 in Egypt and later became my professor of Arabic studies. He also became an important voice in the Netherlands and beyond through his scholarship and public commentary. We knew each other well and have had widely differing opinions about the position of Christians in the Muslim world which in my discussions with him had a major impact on how we viewed dialogue with Muslims. In 2008, I sought contact with him after I had read his book Zelf Koran lezen; Masterclass van de gezaghebbende Arabist (“Reading the Qur’an yourself: Masterclass of the Authoritative Arabist”). I was struck by his claim that Qur’anic verse 2:256, “there is no compulsion in religion,” had been abrogated since that particular verse has played an important role in modern dialogue. If this verse is indeed abrogated as Jansen claimed, then dialogue with Muslims is undermined but if this verse is not abrogated, dialogue appears more plausible. This initiated a lenghthy email correspondence with him during which I also collected responses of Muslim scholars such as the late Dr. ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Bayūmmī, Dr. Ḥassan Wajīh, and Imam Fāḍl Sulaymān.

Jansen’s negative approach to Islam can be explained in part by the fact that he focused in his studies on the motivations of jihadist thinkers. I have always argued that Islam, as the adherents of any other religion, are very diverse and thus it is unjust to focus exclusively on the radical side. One can also do this with any other religion and that only creates a distorted image of that religion that serves no one.

The paper presented the email correspondence between Jansen and myself. Jansen’s emails provide unique insights into his thinking about Islam, his lack of confidence in dialogue with Muslim scholars, and his belief that presenting texts in a wider context could obscure the danger he saw in Islam and the extremist sources he researched. The correspondence also demonstrates his use of certain anti-Islamic authors such as Raymond Ibrahim and Robert Spencer. Many of his emails contained links to articles he believed to be worth reading and which seemed to support his convictions. His email correspondence shows how much he had been impacted by his studies of extremist thought and how this had made him, sadly, radically anti-Islam.

I am very grateful for Dutch Arabist Eildert Mulder, Dr. Ḥassan Wajīh, Imam Fāḍl Sulaymān, and Dr. Nājiyya ʿAbd al-Mughnī Saʿīd who have read the draft and responded to particular questions I had in preparation of this tekst. The paper is accessible to subscribers of Dialogue Across Borders here.

January 17, 2023

Cornelis Hulsman

Senior Advisor Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT)