Modern Ideologies, Islamic Modernism v. Fundamentalism

A brief discussion of the meaning of Islamic Modernism and its conflict with Islamic Fundamentalism, from an ideologies course.

[aleeee]

Susan Buck Morss' book on 'Thinking Past Terror' comes to mind. Also Reza Aslan's works on both Islam and Christianity may be relevant for an audience interested in comparitive 'fundamentalisms'. On the problems in using the term 'Fundamentalism' for Islam, Mamdani's 'Good Muslim, Bad Muslim' offers a useful treatment. Khaled Fadl's 'Islam and Challenge of Democracy' offers an interesting read too. On Khomeini, Hamid Algar's works are a must read.

[patrickcurry]

Well done.

I am very impressed with a classical Islamic modernist, Sheik Muhammad Abduh, who famously said, “I went West and saw Islam; but no Muslims. I returned to the East; I saw Muslims, but not Islam.” Here, he was affirming the timeless values of tolerance, progress and reason that he saw manifested in the West; and that he also affirmed as an essential part of Islam.

To my Muslim friends, peace and prosperity is your birthright. You have a proud civilization. All that is required is to align yourself with the merciful and beneficent God that you worship and uphold— FREELY AND VOLUNTARILY.

God is calling you to his mercy and beneficence.

Act with mercy and beneficence and reap the promise of peace and prosperity.

Peace

[dortoka]

Youre conflating Islamic Modernism with Islamic secularism.

Secularists believe that Islam should not play any role in the state and that Islamic law either 1. Only mattered during Muhammads time or 2. Is not a good way for governing a state. Both of these views really aren't well justified within religous circles, the vast majority of Muslim scholars would label it as atheism. Regardless, the vast majority of governments are secular now for a variety of reasons including leaders asserting their power, wanting approval of the West and Western investment, being set up by colonial authorities, etc. Its important to note for non-Muslims that Islam, unlike most Protestant Christianity, is an inherently political faith that includes things like punishments for crimes in the Qur'an which, considering how it is viewed as the literal word of God but ALL Muslims, you cant disaffirm parts you disagree with as you could, say, Leviticus in the Bible. (Also, on a personal note, what is and isnt Sharia law is not monolithic. Just because a group is Islamist doesn't mean they get all Muslims full backing)

Modernism is not that. Modernism is a religious and social movement that is tied to Islam. Modernists still believe in the punishments of Sharia, Islam playing a big role in the state, etc but they believed that the Islamic orthodoxy was corrupt and influenced far too much by taqlid (following of other jurists). For instance, the traditional Islamic view of riba, or usury, is that it includes any form of interest. Many modernists rejected this view as being taqlid driven, and instead said interest could be halal if under a certain percentage. Right or wrong, its important to note that modernists were still very devout Muslims who affirmed the political aspects of the faith.

"Fundamentalism" is honestly just a made up used Western governments to describe any non-secular, poltical Muslim country. Despite Saudi Arabia, Iran, Gaddafi, the Houthis, and the Taliban being WIDELY different in terms of actual religious beliefs, their views on the practice of religion, its place in the state, and what it says, these groups all get labelled as fundamentalist. Its meaningless from a religious viewpoint, because by then all practicing Muslims who believe in political aspects are fundamentalist, which sort of inherently implies backwardsness, but I think that Muslims, no matter where they stand politically, agree Islam has a meaningful place among the people in the coming centuries and isn't just a superstition of the past.

I hope this might help to clear some things up for people watching