Islam in the Modern World

Abstract

The course will proceed through a number of provocative reform movements and thinkers in recent Islamic history, many of which began to emerge in the 18th and 19th century. During this period, Islam was confronted by the ideological powers of western imperialism, and the provocation of western rational discourse. The provocative discourse of the west challenged Islam from a number of perspectives, not the least of which originated from sociopolitical, scientific, philosophical, and religious spheres. As a consequence of this western inclusion or intrusion, Islamic reformers have since been confronted with two, somewhat general choices in the matter of Islamic reform. One choice identifies those thinkers who seek to define Islam from within, and thus, without the adoption of western ideas and secular practices: these thinkers view the west as something of a threat to the hegemony and continuity of the revealed faith. Others, however, have sought to reform Islam from beyond, transcending the historicality of the faith, and adopting – to a considerable extent – the use of western ideological sources for their reformation.