BaKhabar, August 2010, Page-8

better light a candle than curse the darkness

Islam, Muslim and the question of modernity

- Mohammad Allam, Minto Circle, A.M.U. (mohammad_allam@rediffmail.com)

If any single factor that has been posing a constant challenge to the very tenants of Islam is considered; for sure it will be “the question of modernity”. By using the notion of modernity (now post-modernity), one can demolish any well established and durable religious, social, political or cultural structure.

The fact that can be seen in term of modernity is the constant compulsive demand of changing without thinking of the outcome. The adventurous act of modernity can be fruitful for those structures of religion, politics, economy and culture which are man made and focus on betterment with the passage of time.

But what about “Islam” as a religion; covering entire life of Muslims and their society according to the command of Allah (swt) and guidance of His prophet (pbuh).
About present day modernity it can be said that there is no moral, social, religious and cultural boundations in change.

Can Islam allow Muslims to go beyond the boundaries laid by Shariah of Allah (swt) in the urge of coping up with fast changing life? Can Islam allow change beyond recognition?

The notion of present day modernity which started in Europe has its own model of religion, politics, culture, social values and morality. This suited the man made structure of Europe worked out by their thinkers, philosophers, scholars, governments etc. The start of scientific revolutions, commercial revolution and industrial revolution brought a new type of society, values of life, morality government and cultural trends in the west.

The dominance of Europe through imperialism introduced modernity to the third world including Islamic world. Modernity was a compulsive force in the Islamic world and it introduced to Islamic world a new system of society polity, economy, culture, moral values which was not found in the thousand years of Islamic history. The political anarchy in the world of Islam made Muslims and Islamic world incapable to respond to modernity in the right way. The static of Islamic world started with the introduction of alien notion of rationality and values. The undecided attitude of Islamic world created wider gulf between world of Islam and master race .With two hundred years of response of wait and watch moved Europe beyond the reach of Islamic world in coming century. Only in the later half of the 19th century Muslim thinkers started to ponder over to apply trends of modernity in Islamic world. The advocate of modernity was considered as the rebellion of Islamic world while the opponents of modernity like Ulema ruled over the masses. This division of Islamic world made Muslims and Islamic world to respond to modernity in effective ways.

Throughout the hundred years of 19th and 20th century the response was lukewarm. Only at present, Muslim middle class is advocating the application of modernity with some reservations. Here the Muslims in general and Islamic world in particular have to think about some questions regarding modernity.

These are:
(I)    Is western discourse of modernity applicable in the world of Islam?
(II)    Is there any other discourse of modernity?
(III)    Can Muslim and Islamic world start own discourse of modernity based on religion of Allah?
(IV)    Is it necessary to follow modernity in totality?
(V)    Can Muslim and Islamic world adopt selective trends of modernity in different fields?

In a fast changing world, the importance of modernity and shining of other communities through the adoption of modernity has attracted the intellectuals, scholars and philosophers of the Islamic world. They want to follow modernity without pondering over the pros and cons. There is no doubt that the unlimited freedom from religion, society and state provide higher chances of development to science. Both individual and society in success of science not even challenged the very established norms of religion, society, moral values of life but wrecked them within to become master of own destiny in the west.

They Proclaimed themselves as creator, sustainer and even question the existence of Al-mighty who opened the door of knowledge and wisdom (wala yuheetoona beshaien min ilmehi Illa be masha).They became so much self conscious by riding on scientific research and out come that they tried to create own world of existence rather than live in the natural world of Allah Rabbul Alameen.

The one big mistake that west and their followers did in the scientific research was that they started to open all the fields of study without pondering on the result of

that study in long run. They rejected the god’s forbidden rule for selected field of study. As a result they ventured in all those forbidden fields that should not be opened for the sake of individual and society.

Further with the passage of time, they started applying their own rules on the lives of the individual and society. In other world one can say that they made human being a matter of scientific research. No doubt that they progressed well in all fields but they lost the mastery on their own life. This slavery of science and scientific objectivity (Now refute by the scholars of post-modernism)put the individual and the society in the hands of community of science and later to market and multi-national corporation (One can see the objective and large scale participation of multi-national corporations in scientific research). Can Islam allow Muslims such unlimited freedom to go from the bond of Allah Rabbul Alameen to the slavery of multi-national corporations in the name of modernity?

The application of modernity in science brought unprecedented change in the materialistic approach and material stock of west. This success has also paved the way for demand of application of modernity in other fields of human being. As a result modernity brought a society of present day Europe. How many western scholars and Islamic Scholars having slight love of humanity appreciated the European society in totality?

The modernity which attracted the one section of Islamic society created the problem for Muslim in all fields without a clear cut solution. In education Muslim remains a mute spectator to decide between modern and traditional education, in the field of religion Muslim again standing on cross road to decide to accept change. The numerous terminologies like orthodox, fundamentalist, extremists, liberal, Secular, came into circulation on the basis of adoption of degree of modernity, In the filed of political system, the Islamic world again has been divided into numerous camps from pro-democratic to anti- democratic, pro- Sharia to anti Sharia, pro- liberal to anti-liberal etc. In the fields of culture, the division has been done in the way of living, dressing, dinning by terming them as pro-sharia or anti-sharia.

In such condition what should be the response of Muslim to modernity? There is no question of need of sharia if one decides to leave Islamic tenant’s .But what about those who are standing on cross road to face the challenge of modernity being a follower of Islam. Muslim should adopt selective approach towards modernity. Open and march only in those fields which Islam allows, and stop themselves from those areas where they have been prohibited .They adopt the way of Ijtehad to select a field. Unfortunately due to de linking of Ulema from the filed of Scientific knowledge the key of Ijtehad has been lost. Due to negligence of our Ulema from the fields of science, culture and western ideological revolutions made them incapable to make a key for ijtehad to open the lock of modernity which making Ummah and nations static and just to watch the fast moving world with out participating.

How may years a community can stay in such condition? Can such community compete with other? Can a community which selected by Al-mighty to guide the humanity toward success in this world and world after would be a passive for a long period of time?

The question of adoption of modernity by Muslims should be selective. Let the west to wander from field to field to confuse themselves on the question and application of modernity to establish a just society. What Muslim should to do is to use the experience of the west to bring a society based on principle of Islam and positive modernity. No doubt that Islamic world cannot stop the large section of people to follow modernity blindly as this is a dominant trend of present day world. But Muslim can modify the trend and out come of modernity by injecting the Islamic values in this movement by producing a well knowledgeable class of Ulema, Scholars and common man. The recent trend of spreading of Islam in the west is going to provide a well class of Ulema and scholar for the service of Islam to face the challenge of modernity. These western born Muslims will tackle the question of modernity for general Muslims and Islamic nations.

There is no doubt that to be relevant till the last day of the world sharia has to solve the problems of the fast changing world for the Muslims .Other wise the challenges that the modernity is posing Islam will remain a constant factor of trouble for Muslims and Islam. The modernity which is a product of revolt against the absolute nature of church has revenged from religion by destroying it from the society. The weapon of modernity which has been used by the enemy of religion to dynamite the very basic of Christianity cannot be allowed by Muslims to dynamite Islam by own followers in the name of modernity.

So the need of hour is to clear the notion of modernity in clear words not in ambiguous language. For this purpose every Muslim forces Ulema and Scholars to understand the modernity well and put forward the solution to the challenges of modernity in stipulated time. Other wise what the modernity did with the west and their people will do the same to the world of Islam.

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