Islam and Modernity in contamporary world|The emergence of Islamic modernism (Part2)

 1:Quran and Hadith ,a guide for the Muslims:

For Muslims everywhere, tradition serves as a key organizing principle,an inspirational rallying cry .

Muslims universally look at to the Quran, Hadith and dictates of Muslim law fir guidance and inspiration.Muslim modernist reformers, while responding to the challenges posed by European colonialism and modernism ,made the rallying cry that "go back to the Holy Quran and go forward with ijtihad.'

These pioneer of Islamic modernism focused on a central question:

How can be Muslims be true to the enduring values of their own past while living in the modern world?

Embracing the ideas of Islah (reform),tajdid (renewal /revival)and ijtihad (independent judgement and interpretation,the modernist s promoted Muslim unity and resistance to western to western hegemony by adopting the fruits of science and technology while overwhelming Muslim educational,legal and political institutions.

2:Some Questions to be addressed:

Is Islam compatible with modernity?

How do Muslims respond to the continuous change of the world?

How do we resolve the problem of maintaining the legacy of the past in our religious tradition and integrate change into society and our lives?

How do we introduce change smoothly,which is rare and difficult, without disrupting societies and dislocating  values?ese are some questions that trigger and elicit the discussions the relations between Islam and Modernity.

It is well known that terms like modernity and modernism are continuously contested in contemporary Islamic discourse.

Modernity is a way of thought and of living in the contemporary world and of accepting change,as part of political and cultural processes by integrating new ideas into society 

3:How do Muslims react to this modernity:

There are several forms of reactions,but are mainly grouped into two

• The reformist/modernist 
• The fundamentalists

The modernist are those modern knowledgeable Muslims whose mission,is:

• To define Islam by bringing the fundamentals in a rational and liberal manner ;
• To emphasize, among others,the basic ideals of Islamic brotherhood , tolerance and social justice;and
• To interpret the teachings of Islam in such a way as to bring out it's dynamic character in the context of the intellectual and scientific progress of the modern world."
• In other words, Muslims modernists -in contradistinction to traditionalist and fundamentalists/revivalists-proposed to rescue Islam from cultural stasis and political implosion through a programme of"adaptation and accommodation ."

4: Different approaches towards modernism:

Modernist -being opponent of taqlid and proponents of Ijtihad -disagree with the traditionalists who believe in the dogma of taqlid.Instead they hold the view that Islam is a progressive, dynamic and rational religion in which the inhibiting dogma of taqlid holds no place;

And lay much emphasis on the restoration and exercise of Ijtihad and were against the belief that "gates of Ijtihad"were "closed",based on Quranic verses,like(13:11).For them Islamic law must be carefully revised in order to be flexible and adaptable enough to incorporate modern political, economic, social, cultural and legal conditions .

For example,in the south Asia,Sir Sayyed argued that the Quranic world view was entirely compatible with science and rational thought.

He categorically dismissed the belief that the "gates of Ijtihad"were eternally sealed a millennium earlier and denounced the inhibiting Force of taqlid.

For him, Ijtihad was not an exclusive right of a privileged few Ulema,but the right of all devout and enlightened believers to interpret the Quran in the context of the prevailing environment.

Through his writings and institution building,he struggled to meet the challenges of Modernity by appropriating western education and religious ideals .