Muslim Response to the West: A Comparative Study of Muhammad ‘Abduh and Said Nursi
Journal Title: Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization (JITC) - Year 2014, Vol 4, Issue 0
Abstract
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the entire world witnessed dynamic changes. Dramatic alterations such as the decline of the Ottoman Empire, colonization of Muslim lands, two world wars, divisions in the Muslim world and quest for unity, emergence of major ideologies like Communism, Capitalism, Materialism, and other political changes like the French Revolution affected the globe in general and the Muslim world in particular. These ideologies and philosophies earmarked the development of the Western world, which created imbalance and resulted in the socio-political and economic hegemony of the West on the rest of the world. With the intellectual and military domination of the West over the Muslim world, a process of taking over Western institutions for the benefit of the Muslim world commenced. Islam became a rallying point against these philosophies and hegemony. Many Muslim reformers and intellectuals worked to counter Western influence on Muslim institutions and ideas, which resulted in the emergence of various reform movements that arose from different parts of the Muslim world. While some reformers rejected the West at the outset, others advocated the West and still other reformers maintained a balance between the two. Notable among such Muslim thinkers and reformers were the Egyptian Muhammad ‘Abduh (1849-1905) and the Turk Said Nursi (1876-1960), who left such an indelible imprint on Muslims minds that their ideas and thoughts are still reverberating in both the academic and public discourses. Since these two contemporary scholars witnessed the whole milieu of the changing Muslim world, this paper aims to analyze and compare their response to the West.
Authors and Affiliations
Zubair Hamid
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP489212
- DOI 10.32350/jitc.42.01
- Views 154
- Downloads 0
Islamic architecture and the prospect of its revival today
This paper discusses the meaning of Islamic architecture and some of its salient characteristics. The discussion is divided into the following sections: (1) The meaning of Islamic architecture; (2) Islamic architecture a...
Islam and Modernity: A Selective Influence of the Capitalistic Set-up
Modernity is a term referred to the complex trends of thought which led mankind to the present age with far reaching consequences. The socio-cultural milieu, we are living in, is, nonetheless, a product of modernity. Tho...
The Notion of Illumination in the perspective of Ghazali's Mishkat-al-Anwar
Illumination or knowledge through light is a central theme of medieval philosophy, especially in the Islamic tradition. This special kind of knowledge finds its source in the Qur´anic Verse of Light. Light became a major...
Wasatiyyah (Islamic Moderation): A Conceptual Analysis from Islamic Knowledge Management Perspective
In an environment created by globalization and information affluence, the issue of moderation represents the primary concern of parents, educators, scholars, and leaders. The concept is somehow complicated and is regarde...
Knowledge―Toward Bridging Religious and Modern Sciences: Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Approach
In the recent past, the world has witnessed massive progress and development in the field of science. So many factors like technological know-how, new inventions and discoveries, enhancement of health and hygiene, global...