110-018 Questioning Modernity: Rediscovering Islam

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Subject Description

Unique to Islam's historical experience as a major world religion is that it emerged with its Prophet as a politically dominant force. It was not until the onslaught of the modern European colonial power, that the Islamic world had to come to grips with being vanquished and subdued. The colonial experience brought with it an ambivalent attitude towards modernity, which was seen as a part and parcel of the powers of the West, to which the Muslims were subjected in direct and indirect forms. As a result two major forms of reaction developed - one, to adopt modernity as the very reason behind the West's conquering power. Two, to resent and reject this modernity, seeing it as a part of the West which had to be fought back. In the process, developed the Revivalist and Neo-Revivalist trends on the one hand, and the Modernist and Neo-Modernist trends on the other. This course explains the background and the substance of these trends which revolve around the Muslims' questioning of modernity on the one hand, and rediscovering Islam as both an intrinsically modern culture in itself - and as an alternative to westernising model of modernity.

Assessment

Written work totalling 5000 words

Prescribed Texts

Material prepared by the Institute.