A Critique of Modernist Synthesis in Islamic Thought

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-503
Author(s):  
Masudul Alum Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Muslim Scholars

Is it the realm of theoretical constructs or positive applications thatdefines the essence of scientific inquiry? Is there unison between thenormative and the positive, between the inductive and deductivecontents, between perception and reality, between the micro- andmacro-phenomena of reality as technically understood? In short, isthere a possibility for unification of knowledge in modernist epistemologicalcomprehension? Is knowledge perceived in conceptionand application as systemic dichotomy between the purely epistemic(in the metaphysically a priori sense) and the purely ontic (in thepurely positivistically a posteriori sense) at all a reflection of reality?Is knowledge possible in such a dichotomy or plurality?Answers to these foundational questions are primal in order tounderstand a critique of modernist synthesis in Islamic thought thathas been raging among Muslim scholars for some time now. Theconsequences emanating from the modernist approach underlie muchof the nature of development in methodology, thinking, institutions,and behavior in the Muslim world throughout its history. They arefound to pervade more intensively, I will argue here, as the consequenceof a taqlid of modernism among Islamic thinkers. I will thenargue that this debility has arisen not because of a comparativemodem scientific investigation, but due to a failure to fathom theuniqueness of a truly Qur'anic epistemological inquiry in the understandingof the nature of the Islamic socioscientific worldview ...

scholarly journals Prospects and Dimensions of Conflict Resolution Programs in the Islamic Context

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-152
Author(s):  
Jay Willoughby
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
International Institute ◽  
San Jose ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Muslim Scholars

Amr Abdalla (professor and vice rector, University for Peace, San Jose, CostaRica) visited the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) on February1, 2013, to discuss the challenges of conflict resolution and peace that hascaught the attention of so many Muslim and non-Muslim scholars and policymakersfor several decades. As the Muslim world remains plagued with violentconfrontations between states and non-state actors, regional and nationalsectarian conflicts, and domestic conflicts with gender and family elements,such a discussion is very timely.The outbreak of the Arab Spring, which has resulted in several Islamistgroups taking power, has raised various questions: Why is it important to talk about conflict resolution and peace building in an Islamic context? How canthe theoretical be combined with the practical? How does Islam fit into thedemonstrations that occurred during the Arab Spring as well as into modernity?This is, according to Abdalla, the first opportunity that contemporaryMuslims have had to answer these questions for themselves ...

scholarly journals Islam without Europe: Traditions of Reform in Eighteenth-Century Islamic Thought

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 110-112
Author(s):  
Bruce B. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
American University ◽  
American University Of Beirut ◽  
Arab Muslim ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Georgetown University ◽  
Muslim Scholars

It is hard to exaggerate the scope or scale of this major monograph from one of the foremost Arab Muslim scholars of his generation, Ahmad Dallal, formerly Provost at the American University of Beirut, and now Dean of Georgetown University Qatar.In carefully orchestrated arguments, with massive documentary evidence, Dallal addresses eighteenth century theological/juridical issues across the span of the Muslim world. He touches on intellectual giants and reform movements from Senegal to Syria, from Yemen to India, delving deeply into complex debates that continue to resonate. Islam without Europe catapults Dallal into the company of revisionists who are also global historians, those looking for a way to redefine Islam outside the parameters of European historical conventions. To download full review, click on PDF.

The Era of Overseas Scholarships: Islam, Modernization, and Decolonization in Northern Nigeria, c. 1954-1966

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Thurston
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Independence Era ◽  
Ambivalent Relationship ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Muslim Scholars

AbstractIn independence-era Northern Nigeria, different segments of the modernizing elite contended over defining the place of Islam in society. This article argues that the case of Northern Nigeria disrupts scholarly periodizations of twentieth-century Islamic thought and activism that depict the 1950s and 1960s as a time of secularist dominance. The specificity of Muslim communities’ experiences of colonialism and decolonization helped shape the role Islam played in different societies during this period. This article develops this thesis by examining the semiautonomous Northern Nigerian regional government’s program of sending young, Arabophone Muslim scholars to Arab and British universities between 1954 and 1966. The overseas scholarships system was to be the culmination of British colonial efforts to produce ‘modern’ Muslim judges and teachers. However, Arabophones’ experiences overseas, and their ambivalent relationship with the Northern government after their return highlight the unintended consequences of colonial policies and of scholarship winners’ encounters with the broader Muslim world.

A priori/a posteriori

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Schepers ◽  
Giorgio Tonelli ◽  
Rudolf Eisler
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
A Posteriori

أوهام القراءة الحداثية المعاصرة: دراسة تحليلية نقدية (Misunderstandings of Modern Contemporary Reading: A Critical Analysis )

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-299
Author(s):  
حنان ساري ◽  
محمد أبو الليث الخيرآبادي
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Natural Extension ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Religious Issues ◽  
European Experience ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Muslim Scholars

انتشرت لفظة الحداثة في عصرنا الحالي انتشاراً واسعاً، وأخذت مفهومات متعددة، ونحن لا نراها أكثر من أنها امتداد طبيعي للقلق الأوروبي.وسعى التيار الحداثي لتقديم مشاريع تعتمد كلية على مناهج وآليات غربية في دراستها وتعاملها مع القرآن الكريم والسنة، ولعل أهم الذين تقدموا بتلك المشاريع؛ محمد أركون، عبد المجيد الشرفي التونسي، محمد عابد الجابري، حسن حنفي، نصر حامد أبوزيد، الطيب التيزني السوري، محمد شحرور، جمال البنا وغيرهم، وطالبوا بإعادة قراءة القرآن الكريم على ضوء المناهج النقدية الغربية في عملية التقليد الأعمى، ومن ثم نقلوا التجربة الأوروبية بكل آثارها الفوضوية إلى ساحة الفكر الإسلامي. وإن مدعي تجديد الدين من هؤلاء، ليس لهم صلة بالدين أو علومه، بقدر ما تشبعت أفكارهم بمناهج علمانية، فالمراد من جهودهم ليس الدين، وإنما غرس الحداثة بدل الدين، فهي خطَّةٌ تقوم على التَّغيير من داخل البيت الإسلاميِّ من خلال العبث بالنُّصوص الشَّرعيَّة بتحريفها وتفريغها من محتواها الحقيقيِّ، ووضع المحتوى الذي يريدون؛ فهم يَطرحون أفكارَهم وآراءَهم على أنَّها رؤى إسلاميَّة ناشئة عن الاجتهاد في فهم الدِّين. وقد حَمَلَ هذا الاتجاهُ شعار (التَّحديث والعصرنة للإسلام)؛ فهم يريدون منَّا تركَ ما أَجْمَعَتْ عليه الأُمَّةُ من معاني القرآن والسُّنَّة، لفهم جديد مغاير لفهم السَّلَف الصَّالح يكون متناسبًا مع هذا العصر الذي نعيش فيه. الكلمات المفتاحيّة: الحداثة، أوهام، الحداثيون، قراءة معاصرة، العصرنة للإسلام. Abstract In modern times, the word Modernity has spread widely and has become widely understood, and we see it as a natural extension of European concern and confusion. The Modernist Movement strived to present the ideas that rely completely on Western methodologies and approaches in their study and dealing with Qur’an and Sunnah. The most important scholars that have presented these ideas are; Mohammad Arkoun, ‘Abd Al-Majid Sharafi al-Tunisi, Mohammed ‘Abed al-Jabri, Hassan Hanafi, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Tayyeb Tizini, Muhammad Shahrour, Jamal Al-Banna, and others, they called for a re-reading and reinterpret the Qur’an in the light of Western critical approaches. Then, conveyed and brought the European experience and practice with all its chaotic effects to Islamic thought. The slogan of “Renewal of Religion” from these people has no relation to religion (Islam) or its sources, but instead saturated their ideas with secular methods. They tried to instill modernity rather than religion, and misinterpreted the Islamic sources by distorting it and evacuating it from the true context and setting it with their own understanding. They claim their ideas and opinions as the effort to understand religion and carried the slogan of “Modernization and Modernization of Islam”; they want us to leave the consensus of the Muslim scholars on religious issues (Ijmaa’ al-Ummah) especially relating to the meaning of the Qur’an and Sunnah and bring us to a new views and understanding on religious issues which are contradictory to the views of the past Muslim scholars (al-salaf al-soleh) to fulfill their opinions. Keywords: Modernity, Misunderstanding, Modernists, Contemporary Reading, Modernization of Islam.

Toward an Islamic Framework for Worldview Studies

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-43
Author(s):  
Abdelaziz Berghout
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Inductive Approach ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
Field Of Inquiry ◽  
Muslim Scholars

The paper examines the importance of designing a framework for studying worldviews within the parameters of contemporary Islamic thought. It briefly reviews both selected western and Islamic stances on worldview studies. The literature reveals that research on this topic and its application to different spheres has become a topic of some interest to many intellectual circles, particularly in the western context. Hence, the possibility of forming an Islamic civilizational framework for an inquiry into people’s worldviews needs to be assessed. This article follows a textual analysis and inductive approach to analyze the prospects of formulating an Islamic framework for research on worldviews and its applications. It concludes that western scholars have made considerable efforts in treating people’s worldviews as a field of study, while Muslim scholars have not. In this respect, many western researchers have contributed to developing worldview studies as a separate field of inquiry, including the history of concept, subject matter, objectives, kinds, methods, and applications. Therefore, the need to enhance the Islamic input and research pertaining to this field by introducing an Islamic civilizational framework and approach of inquiry becomes apparent.

Metode Tafsir Muhammad Abduh dan Muhammad Rasyid Ridha dalam Tafsîr Al-Manâr

TAJDID ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Ahmad Tholabi Kharlie
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Religious Thought ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Muslim Scholars ◽  
Religious Counseling

Tafsîr al-Manar is one of the most popular exegesis of the Qur`anic studies. Al-Manar magazine, which contains this interpretation periodically, namely in the early 20th century, is widespread throughout the Islamic world and has an important role in enlightening thoughts and religious counseling. The influence of Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, along with his student, Sayyid Muhammad Rasyîd Ridhâ, on the development of religious thought in the Islamic world, thus, cannot be underestimated.This article is a result of a previous study of the Qur’an exegesis method of the two prominent Muslim scholars, Muhammad Abduh and Muhammad Rashid Ridha. The study reveals two main conclusions, they are (1) personally both Muhammad Abduh and Muhammad Rashid Ridha are independent who have extensive, well-known, and versatile insight and knowledge, have personality traits that are steady, honest, brave, passionate, intelligent, determined, and a number of other advantages, like other leading commentator (2) Al-manâr book, with its superiorities, is well recognized as a monumental work that broadly contributes to the development of Islamic thought, particularly in modern exegesis field. In regard to exegesis of Qur’anic legal verses, though it is not a special legal book, Al-manâr is able to explain deeply and comprehensively the Qur’anic legal verses just like the other legal exegesis works.

Qualifier la qualité des données localisées numériques des réseaux d’eau et d’assainissement

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
M. LE MOAL
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Systèmes D’Information Géographique ◽  
Systèmes D’Information

Les systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) sont devenus incontournables dans la gestion des réseaux d’eau et d’assainissement et leur efficacité repose en très grande partie sur la qualité des données exploitées. Parallèlement, les évolutions réglementaires et les pratiques des utilisateurs augmentant notamment les échanges d’informations renforcent le rôle central des données et de leur qualité. Si la plupart des solutions SIG du marché disposent de fonctions dédiées à la qualification de la qualité des données, elles procèdent de la traduction préalable de spécifications des données en règles informatiques avant de procéder aux tests qualitatifs. Cette approche chronophage requiert des compétences métier. Pour éviter ces contraintes, Axes Conseil a élaboré un procédé de contrôle des données SIG rapide et accessible à des acteurs métier de l’eau et de l’assainissement. Plutôt qu’une lourde approche de modélisation a priori, le principe est de générer un ensemble d’indicateurs explicites facilement exploitables a posteriori par les acteurs du métier. Cette approche offre une grande souplesse d’analyse et ne nécessite pas de compétences informatiques avancées.

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