REL 137g 1st Edition Lecture 23 Current Lecture Islam and its move from pre modernity to modernity Modernity Not simply a time designation All contemporary communities are modern Modern is relative modern in comparison to all the communities that came before Therefore every era is modern A way of life that includes a number of new structural realities That fundamentally affect the way we look at life the past and future These realities are brought into being by the rise of The West The progenitor of modernity The West as an entity emerges at a particular time Sometime around the 16th century Idea that conflict with Islam was the impetus to drive the West into one collective entity Confrontation when Columbus was travelling west to America he ran into Muslims Leading structural innovations Capitalism Leads to economic leaders and followers Results in a certain degree of economic dependence The West leads the rest are dependant In particular for Islam the commodification of money Liquid money becomes a commodity Brings back the institution of interest riba Enlightenment rationalism Liberalism Clearing a way out of the pre modern past Instead of intelligible essences Things are made of concrete realities rather that essences Good and evil is open to discussion debate interpretation and negotiation They are not just what God tells us Modern science Based on empirical evidence If it cannot be proven it does not exist The Nation State The modern state Citizenship equality Monopoly of law Single law of the land Colonialism The medium through which the Muslim world would encounter the entire West Islam s response Muhammad Ibn Ahb al Wahhab 1703 1792 Local movement within his own community to rid it of Western influences Founder of the Wahhabi movement Now has the reputation of being ultra conservative and extremist bordering on violent Out of context Against superstition Especially Sufi Supported full ijtihad Biddah Unsanctioned innovation to him the opposite of sunna The Prophet perfected Islam and anything added after is unsanctioned Advocated going back to the ways of the pious ancestors
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