The Quest for Modernity in Islam

The September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon provoked people of all stripes and every faith (including Muslims) to understand the nature of Islam: a religion of more than a quarter of the world's population, in 52 countries stretching from Morocco to Indonesia.

A close examination clearly points towards an increasing gulf of values, aspirations and achievements between the Islamic world and the West. While the West has become a dominant force in all economic, political and scientific fields, the Islamic world has been left behind.

There was a time when Islamic nations were the center of art, architecture, science and economic progress, while Christian Europe was mired in the dark. Science, mathematics and philosophy in medieval Europe were made possible by the contributions of brilliant Muslim scholars such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna).

The fundamental question is: what has happened to Islamic civilization since then? Why has there been a precipitous decline in its influence and prosperity, especially in the last few centuries? Are there inherent weaknesses in Islam that cannot address modern-day challenges? Or have Muslim rulers and administrators corrupted the basic tenets of the Qur`an (the sacred scriptures of Islam, revealed to Prophet Mohammad – peace be upon him – by Allah during the 7th century) to impose their own repressive regimes, causing a perpetual backwardness of their subjects?

Muslims believe that every syllable of the Qur`an is Allah's word, and therefore there is no room for change, discussion or reinterpretation. This leads to a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, this is a matter of pride for Muslims. As compared to various versions of the Old and New Testament, there is one and only one version of Qur`an in all corners of the world. On the other hand, this rigidity provides no room for Muslims to find solutions to problems of the modern world from any other source than the Qur`an (and Hadith – traditions concerning the Prophet Mohammad's life and utterances). Because Islam is not just a religion but a deen(or 'way of life'), Muslims are obliged to resort to the Qur`an for the solution to all of their problems. Beyond the spiritual and ritual aspects of life, Muslims believe that Qur`an (along with Hadith) contain complete guidelines for day-to-day activities for all time.

With the exception of a few scholars and academicians, Muslims are not willing to even entertain a notion of any limitations in the original message of Islam. After all, for a believer, every syllable of the Qur`an is the absolute truth for all people, all time and all places. There is no room for any deviation and compromise.

Whenever Islamic societies fall under criticism in modern times, Muslims always assert "We must not blame Islam, but blame Muslims for not practising Islam." The question remains as to why are Muslims unable to follow Islamic principles as laid down in Qur`an and Hadith? And more importantly, why do they become offended and respond through violence when anyone challenges the relevance of these principles? A majority of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others are willing to tolerate criticism and try to respond to skeptics through dialogue. Or is it that the Qur`anic principles can only serve as a source of spiritual guidance, and (like all other Holy Books) cannot be applied in today's complex world of heterogeneity, diversity and unpredictability?

To circumvent this problem, other faiths have, over time, come to divide their religious authority from the political. But according to Islam, there can be no separation of mosque and state. In fact, the sublime responsibility of an Islamic state is to propagate and ensure that religion is practised in daily lives. Qur`an and Hadith are the "complete" source of guidance for worldly and heavenly affairs. They are not just a theoretical basis for spiritual consolation and intellectual pursuit; they provide a complete code for managing daily life—business problems, political activities, social and family relationships.

The great Islamic civilizations of the past millennium have shown that Islam indeed was a "complete" source of conduct in this life and a means of spiritual connection with the hereafter. Both of these elements could be practised simultaneously. But the world has become more complex and heterogeneous. Solutions offered by Islam were very well suited to the socio-economic need of the past millennium. While Islam may have been ahead of its time at the outset, the world has now moved ahead of Islam.

Let us examine some of the fundamental problems that the world faces today in the areas of economics, politics and science, and see what solutions Islam has to offer.

Economics: Unlike other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism (especially Gandhi's philosophy of "simple living and high thinking"), Islam encouraged economic growth, prosperity and pursuit of a better life. At the same time, Islam strongly required that believers take care of the "have-nots." It also provided a very effective mechanism of income redistribution. It minimized the possibility of social inequality by establishing systems of zakaat (an obligatory tax on well-off Muslims) and Bait-ul-Maal (an agency for collecting and distributing charity and zakaat among the needy). For centuries, economic progress and the pursuit of material wealth proved consistent with Islamic principles. In fact, they laid the foundation of the social welfare system and progressive income taxation system now practised in Western countries.

But Islam failed to address other issues of a modern economy, principally: international trade based on comparative advantage, globalization, a monetary system, banking, a fiscal system (beyond zakaat), speculative investments (i.e., stock markets), venture capital, interest, insurance, inflation, and research and development.

Precisely these issues have become dominant concerns during the last two centuries. In an earlier period, most of them did not arise, or affected only a very narrow portion of economic activity. During that era, societies were primarily agrarian. The economy rested on land, with unskilled labor as the main means of production. Therefore, even when capital was ignored or defined only in kind (such as a ton of grain or a herd of sheep), this did not prevent economic progress Commercial activities centered on a medieval form of cottage craft and production, carried out among family members. Transaction of goods used to take place at the village market. Jurisdictional and international trade was very limited. Therefore, Islam was in harmony with the prevalent economic structure. It did not have to find innovative solutions to emerging problems.

In the context of Islamic economics, the major problem is that the Qur`an offers no blueprint for interaction between production and distribution. It does not provide an explanation as to how land, labour and capital should interact with each other to produce wealth in a society. It prohibited riba, (generally translated as "interest")—the precondition for the creation and circulation of capital of a modern economy. Of course, capital is indispensable to both research and technological advancement.

A few Muslim countries have established a so-called "Islamic banking system," which in practical terms is not different from any prevalent Western banking practice, although it employs different terminology. For example, the term "profit-sharing" is used for "interest." There are some innovations in the area of investment risk sharing – mudaraba and musharaka– but the process is cumbersome and has limited application, especially in a global context.

Science: The Qur`an does not oppose or impede most of the scientific progress being undertaken today. However, it does not provide the rationale for this development, either, nor does it tell us how to cope with its social and moral consequences. If, according to Muslims, all answers can be found in the Qur`an, then why did Muslim scholars fail to invent and innovate in modern-day mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and interrelated disciplines? Without a single exception, all of these developments have been taking place in the Western world, at least in the last two centuries. Second, why did Islam fail to provide rational answers, acceptable to the majority of Muslims, to the social and ethical issues resulting from these scientific developments? (I'm thinking of issues like family planning, organ transplants, and cloning and genome research.)

Politics: During its early period, Islam was very open in acquiring knowledge from other societies. It was also very tolerant of divergent views and opinions. The collection of books in Qurtabah library alone, in alAndalus (Muslim Spain during 10th century), exceeded the collections of all the libraries in Europe. These books were not just explanations and interpretations of Qur`an and Hadith, but covered a wide range of subjects by renowned scholars. The West received the lost Greek philosophy and wisdom through translated Arabic books. Debate and discussions were a common pastime in the Muslim world. There were even groups such as the Mu'tazilah in the 8thcentury, which were rationalist and used to test the validity of a given Qur`anic verse according to maxims of logic. On problems not directly covered by the Qur`an and Hadith, ijtihad (or interpretations by any qualified jurist) used to be practised on a regular basis. For example, on issues of daily importance, there were four schools of law (Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali) within the Sunni world alone. All were practised side by side with equal importance. But the door to ijtihad was slammed shut by the Abbasid rulers during 13th century, and remains shut to this day. Does it make sense that when the world is becoming more complex and challenging with new problems in all spheres of our life, options to find solutions from religious sources stay closed in the Sunni world, which represents about 80 percent of Muslims?

In its early message, Islam also advanced the notion of ijma (consensus) in the area of politics. It advised leaders to practice shura (consultation) before making important decisions. However Qur`an is silent on how the consultation should take place. It also never laid down a clear mechanism of choosing leaders: should they be selected, elected (or a combination of both)? By a chosen few or by the masses? After all, Hazrat Abu Bakr became the first caliph in Islam in a state of confusion, when the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) died. Hazrat Omar, as a second caliph, was nominated by Hazrat Abu Bakr. Hazrat Uthman's selection as a third caliph was controversial, and led to the division of Muslims. A new sect formed, the Shiite, comprising followers of Hazrat Ali, who became the fourth caliph after the murder of Hazrat Uthman. Later on, monarchy became the norm in Islam with the establishment of Ummayyad and Abbasid dynasties.

After the French Revolution in 18th century, while the West became successful in establishing a well-defined democratic system, the Islamic world remained captive in the primitive political structure of monarchy or authoritarian regimes. Presently, most Islamic countries are ruled by kings, emirs, sheiks, sultans and dictators. According to the Saudis, who claim to adhere to strict Islamic law, the Qur`anic injunction to "obey Allah, obey the Prophet and obey the ruler" justifies absolute rule.

The most daunting task for Islam is to explain and determine the status of women, who make one-half of the world's population, in a modern society. Other religions might have more restrictive positions on women in their Holy Books, but no one imposes them as forcefully in this age as Muslims do. According to the Qur`an, a woman's input in a decision or as a witness is equal to one-half of a man's. A husband can resort to corporal punishment on his wife in certain circumstances. He can take four wives at the same time, after meeting some conditions. Men have the right to "grant" divorce, whereas women can only "ask" or request it. Men can marry outside Islam, but women cannot. These statements are very clear in the Qur`an, without any room for ambiguity.

The challenge is how to uplift the status of women in Islam to fit modern life. Any attempt to bring this change would clearly entail the violation of Qur`anic injunctions. The status quo, on the other hand, would keep women captive and "unequal" to men.

The other key challenge is how to be "flexible" and "tolerant" to other faiths without violating basic Islamic principles. Today's world is a global village. People from all religions and ethnicity live in large cosmopolitan cities, especially in the West. Harmony and peace can only be achieved through respect and tolerance for each other's belief and practice—even by those who are blessed with the "ultimate truth," who logically reach the conclusion that all others are "wrong."

The present state of intolerance in the Islamic world was best lamented by a Kuwaiti professor, Ahmed al-Baghdadi. Writing in a local newspaper, he states, "Muslim claims that their religion is a religion of tolerance, but they show no tolerance for those who oppose their opinions. … The Islamic world and the Arab world are the only places in which intellectuals – whose only crime was to write – rot in prison." (Cited in an op-ed column by Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, November 23, 2001.)

For a healthy society to function, it has to adapt according to changing needs. The urge to possess the holy grail of "absolute" truth has to be questioned. Social, economic, political and scientific development are evolving and continuously changing. One can address these challenges only by questioning, and leaving ones' mind open to new options. Rigidity leads to backwardness. That is what happened to Muslim societies. Their intellectual curiosity stands frozen in the past millennium.

Muslims have to reflect upon current realities. They need to ask some of the fundamental questions arising in today's world:

Can a Muslim be allowed to question some aspects of the Qur`an and Hadith without losing his/her faith and perhaps head?

Can a scholar initiate ijtihad and suggest solutions to modern-day problems that may fall outside the realm of Qur`an and Hadith? For example, organ transplant, genome research, homosexuality, stock market speculation, etc.?

Can a woman have "equal" rights and responsibilities (both in quantity and quality) in marriage, division of assets, politics, education and economic opportunities without violating the basic tenets of Islam?

This is the most difficult question to answer with any degree of certainty. A large majority of Muslims still believe that the true Islamic society was established and practised by the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) some 1500 years ago. They feel a religious and moral obligation to recreate that society, to restore that "golden age." The Islamic revolution in Iran against the Shah in the early 1980s, and the Taliban's recent rule in Afghanistan have been attempts to achieve this goal. After all, if the necessary mode of performing each day-to-day activity is laid down in the Qur`an and Sharia, then all Muslims need do is whole-heartedly practice and implement them. They need to transform themselves and society to conform to the Sacred Book. And if anyone wishes to modernize Islam to suit contemporary reality, he has deviated from the path of "truth," and he must be brought back into conformity.

Falsafay Ghaalib (pseudonym) has a Ph.D. in Economics. He is associated with a leading research organization in Canada.

The other key challenge is how to be "flexible" and "tolerant" to other faiths without violating basic Islamic principles
Why does he put quotes around those words? If a westernised intellectual like him can barely promote the concept of co-existence with other religions, then where is the 'modern' islam going to come from? If the muslims of the west aren't in the forefront of theological ferment and advocation of what should be a new school of islam, what hope is there? Yes, one can be an optimist but in the face of all the vituperation directed at us, it seems to be wishful thinking a la Friedman, Karen Armstrong and Costello.

From the horse's mouth:
A large majority of Muslims still believe that the true Islamic society was established and practised by the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) some 1500 years ago. They feel a religious and moral obligation to recreate that society, to restore that "golden age."

Mohamed was a pedophile who invented a religion based on thuggery and warfare to impose upon opposing caliphates, who, once so "converted", continued those cycles, eventually conquering even parts of Europe.

Once so ensconsed, the caliphates, say of Al-Andalus, were indeed enlightened, restoring much knowledge to the West that otherwise may have well become lost in antiquity.

Though that might have tended to make them soft too, with the last of the Spanish caliphs being chided by his own mother in retreat for having so squandered his manhood, no less his predeccesor's conquests.

Thus to the "modernity" of islam....

How can this be you ask? Easy..Allah is extreemly dumb!

Examples of "Modernity" in Islam:

(1) Fatwa's can now be broadcast over Radio and T.V.!

(2) Divorces can now be done over the Internet via e-mail:

"I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee..."

(3) Burqua's now come in Summer and Winter weights

(4) You can use a GPS unit to face Mecca

(5) Dying as a martyr not only gets you 72 virgins, but a subscription to cable as well

Anybody care to add any others?

However much modernity is hated, just like the ayatollah khomeini who used audiocassettes to spread his teachings in iran, they will use all the tools available to them to destroy the west, nothwithstanding the fact that it is the west that has created the very tools they hold.

The Space Age and Fatwas

Good for a chuckle if you skim it.

-SNIP- Indeed, you can see the beginnings of similar forces taking shape right now. The international space station, humanity's first step to permanent space colonization is scheduled to be built starting next year. America, Japan, Russia and other secular powers are taking the first steps to permanent human colonization of the stars. Meanwhile, back here on earth, the forces arrayed to crush spirituality and allegiance to God have succeeded in destroying Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism. Those traditions have bowed their heads and become relegated to quaint ceremonies and occasional nationalist sloganeering. The only real challenge left, Islam, is being suppressed everywhere and unIslamic cultural influences have corrupted almost all the young people in every Muslim country. The Western world has established its hegemony and control over the world's resources, finances, culture and technological direction. China and its "communism" is the only wild card left in the world and there is likely to be conformity there as well, eventually.

I recall that one of my lit professors loved a novel by an Iranian writer which basically exorciated the West and Modernity. The protaginist was found in the end to be dying of stress from her Western lifestyle. Her doctor was able to prescribe meds that eventually save her. I'm guessing that the author missed the irony.

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