Islam and Modernity: A Relationship Predicament or A Dilemma of Absence?

Abstract

The writings and views on Islam and modernity varied. There are who believe that Islam has its modernity, which in some aspects corresponds to the modernity of the West, and there are those who argue that Islam is superior to Western modernity. In general, there are two trends, the separation of Islam from modernity, and the link between Islam and modernity. Modern Islamists argued that Islam and modernity are in agreement and emphasized the need to reinterpret and apply the principles of Islam to shape new responses to political, scientific, and cultural changes in modern life, and rejected the doctrine of taqlid (imitation). However, religious thinkers who separate Islam from modernity think that the first step in their path is to rise above modern societies, describing them as jahiliyya societies, asserting that Islam and modernity are at the crossroads of the road and that if they go along with modernity one step, they will lose the path.