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ISLAM AND MODERNITY
67. Is Islam opposed to modernity?
The question of modernity and faith, including Islam, depends on what is meant by the term modernity. If by modernity one means the use of science, reasoning, and invention to improve our lives, all of these are in line with the Islamic philosophy that led to the flowering of scientific exploration and technological innovation at the height of Islamic civilization in the Middle Ages, commonly known as the Golden Age of Islam. The mere fact that Muslims are living and practicing Islam 1400 years after its founding in the modern, post-Enlightenment world in Western societies demonstrates that Islam is naturally compatible with the modern world. In fact, millions of Muslims are involved, often in leading positions, in the fields of science, mathematics, medicine, engineering and other scientific fields.
However, if my modernity one means acceptance of the various values that underpin our modern lifestyles and worldview, the answer is more nuanced and complicated. Islam, like other religions, would not be compatible with a modernity which is opposed to the centrality of God, morality, and religion or which is based upon a worldview which regards material realities as the ultimate truth and goal. Modernity void of morality has brought us the two deadliest wars in history, the Holocaust, and the atomic bomb. Uncontrolled capitalism and globalization have not only stripped the earth of irreplaceable resources and species but have also created huge economic disparities between the masses and the ultra-rich both among and within nations. For these and other reasons, many Muslims, like members of other religious and other groups, are increasingly concerned about the devastating effects that modernity and its accompanying technological advances, when influenced only by factors relating to economic profit and short-term gain, have had upon our environment and the world, which is now facing a threat to our very existence due to climate change.
68. What does Islam say about democracy?
The concept of democracy is not universally agreed upon by all political scientists. Many take it to include some form of elected political representation, the rule of law, and protection of human rights of all citizens. These concepts, and especially the latter two, are central to Islamic teachings. As for the method by which political leaders are chosen, Islam advocates a system of mutual consultation that can include popular elections as a means to choose both local and national leaders. Indeed, many Muslim-majority countries exercise this form of democracy, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Bangladesh, amongst others.
In fact, Pew polls in 2011 and 2013 have shown that a substantial majority of Muslims worldwide favor democracy. As we witnessed during the 2011 Arab Spring and beyond, people throughout the Arab world in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria have risked their lives, and in some places are still risking them, in their struggle for freedom and democratic change in their countries.
69. What does the term “Islamic State” mean? Do any such states exist today?
The phrase “Islamic State” is a new concept created in the twentieth century by some modern Islamic thinkers. With the advent of the nation-state, these Muslim thinkers, highly influenced by the European separatist movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, conceptualized an “Islamic” version of the nation-state, powered by an “Islamic” ideology in which the political leaders advocate for a central role for Islam in governance and rule. In some Muslim countries, these ideologues formed “Islamic” political parties that adopted “Islamic” positions and solutions to various problems as a platform. Though these Islamic political parties participated in some instances in the democratic political process of their respective countries, their overall outlook of governance is closer to a theocracy, where the political leaders also function as religious leaders. This is in stark contrast to the early caliphates of Islam where political leaders left religious proclamations and determination of doctrine to the scholarly class, although these scholars often functioned as court judges and advisors to the ruling elite.
In any case, the concept of “Islamic State” or “Caliphate” as envisioned by terrorist groups such as ISIS and the Taliban has virtually nothing in common with the political structure of the early caliphates, as they ignore authentic Muslim scholarship and even anathematize many of its scholars and mark them for assassination. (Though not widely reported by the press, this happened routinely under ISIS leadership in Iraq.)
Conversely, there are several Muslim-majority countries today that claim Islamic teachings or Sharia as the basis of their constitutions or laws. What this means in practice is usually more ceremonial than practical, as these same countries often have Western legal systems in most aspects of their national and state laws, except in family matters related to marriage, divorce, and child custody. These family laws apply only to Muslim citizens, whereas non-Muslim citizens would be subject to their own religion’s laws, if any, or the civil code. Additionally, many of these countries that claim to be Islamic states have a governing system which is not aligned with Islamic principles and are often oppressive both to their citizens and to other nations.
70. Does Islam support individual rights?
Islam guarantees the basic individual rights of freedom of thought, expression, right to own property, and general freedom to conduct oneself according to one’s individual will. However, as in any other society or civilization, individual rights are not absolute but are understood in reference to other individuals’ rights and the public interest in general. In a Muslim society founded upon Islamic principles, the relationship between individual and community rights is based upon an understanding of the greater objective of producing and maintaining flourishing societies on all levels, not just the material, but also the spiritual and emotional. This includes the preservation of the sacred, whether in the form of religious spaces, individual religious practice, or religious tenets. Islamic teachings aim to root individuals in communities that foster their ability to rise to their full human potential.
While in practice most Muslim societies have not often reached this ideal, the attempt to do so is considered one of the core teachings and obligations of Islam, despite humanity’s innate shortcomings. A 2013 Pew poll showed a substantial majority of Muslims worldwide in favor of democracy and freedom of religion. While the poll did not ask questions specifically about freedom of expression, it is likely, in view of their answers to the aforementioned questions, that a substantial majority would favor these rights as well.
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