Islam and Modernity in contamporary world|The emergence of Islamic modernism(part1)

 1: Introduction:

History has witnessed the emergence of Islam,it's rapid and dynamic spread, the spawning of vast Islamic empires and sultanates and the florescence of a rich and varied Islamic civilization but colonialism brought it all to a halt and turned it's tables upside down.

The age of European expansion and extension, penetration and dominance _euphemistically called the age of Discovery of European _began in the 16tg century but came to finishing point (end results)in the 29th and 29th centuries.So,by the 19th century the balance of power had clearly shifted toward Europe;and much of Muslim world  found itself subjugated to European imperial powers, demonstrating its political, economic and military importance and challenging the veracity of Islam itself.

2: Emergence of Islamic modernism:

Modernism _a movement to reconcile Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy,rights, nationalism, rationality,science equality and progress_emerged in the middle of the 19th century as a response to European colonialism,which pitched the Muslim world into crisis.

Islamic modernism generated a series of novel institutions, including schools that combined Islamic education with modern subjects and pedagogies; newspapers that carried modernist Islamic ideas across continents; constitutions that sought to limit state power ;and social welfare agencies that brought state power into even more sectors of social life.

3:Response to European Modernity:

Islamic modernism began as a response of Muslim intellectuals to European Modernity,who argued that Islam , science and progress, revelation and reason,were indeed compatible.

They did not simply wish to restore the beliefs and practices of the past rather they asserted the need to" reinterpret and reapply"the principals and ideals of Islam to formulate new responses to the political, scientific and cultural challenges of the west and of modern life .

In a nutshell ,as a reaction to the penetration of western capitalist modernity into all aspects of Muslim society from the Arab world to South east Asia ,a significant number of Muslim intellectuals began to write down the general outlines of a new intellectual project that is often referred to as "Islamic modernism".

4:Role of Muslim thinkers:

The Muslim thinkers started working on the concept of modernism.Sir sayyed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Iqbal argued that that Islam is a dynamic, progressive religion that was made stagnant  and moribund by the forces of history and the mindset of many Ulema  

They identified the Source of Muslim weakness and asserted the compatibility of religion,reason and science ;

They reclaimed the glories of Islamic history , reminding Muslims that had once been very strong, spawning vast empires and an Islamic civilization whose Wonders included major achievements in science, medicine and philosophy.

They set out to initiate a reformation,to boldly redefine or reconstruct Islamic beliefs and thought ,to reform Islamic theology and law .At the same time,they emphasized Muslim pride ,unity and solidarity to face the political and cultural threat of European colonialism.