Hi Billy,
On Nov 3, 2009, at 9:09 AM, [email protected] wrote:
IN THE late 19th century, a reform movement emerged in the Muslim
world. It recognized that for Muslims to embark on an age of
renaissance, modern sciences must be embraced. Reformists endeavored
to convince Muslims that modern sciences do not contradict Islam -
and were quite successful in doing so. This school, developed by
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh, is often mistakenly
described as liberal; in fact, its primary goal was to defend Islam
against Western hegemony. It aspired to offer a theological
framework that would allow Muslims to be part of modernity without
compromising their belief in the comprehensive essence of Islam.
The one thing these reformers never intended to do was to release
society from the shackles of religious scriptures monopolized by
religious establishments. And ironically enough, it is exactly
because Afghani and Abduh's relatively modern and relatively
tolerant school of thought became so influential - appeasing the
minds of so many Muslims that religion can indeed encompass every
aspect of modernity - that the Arab intellectual world is still
locked in a spirit of taboo and fear.
Some 100 years ago, it was possible, although risky, for an Arab to
doubt whether the Koran was a divine text. Any Arab who does so
today would be signing his own death warrant. Sadly enough, many
contemporary Western intellectuals also think twice before
discussing Muslim creed. Where particular aspects of life, such as
religion, cannot be openly debated, thorough scientific
investigation is impossible.
Fascinating. I wasn't familiar with the al-Afghani and Abduh
reforms. This article implies that "moderate" reforms may actually
inoculate a culture against genuine reforms. Not sure I fully believe
it, but it is a sobering possibility.
-enp
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