✦ Modernity to Postmodernism: The Intellectual Journey of the West ✦
❖ Religion vs. Reason: The Western Conflict
The intellectual struggle between religion and reason in the West is a key chapter of modern history. This conflict, however, was not against divinely revealed religion, but rather against a distorted version of Christianity that had deviated from original divine teachings.
✦ The Flaws in the Altered Religion
✔ Original revelation was based on Tawḥīd (monotheism), but Trinity overtook Christianity.
✔ Direct connection with God was replaced by the authority of priests.
✔ Scripture, once accessible to all, became the exclusive domain of clergy interpretation.
✔ Salvation in true religion depends on faith and righteous action, but altered Christianity promoted the idea of atonement through sacrifice.
✔ Islam emphasized balance and justice, while Christian monasticism contradicted natural human inclinations.
✦ Rebellion Against Religion in the West
Due to these distortions and the oppression of the Church, the public grew frustrated. This led to the rise of a powerful intellectual movement known as Modernism.
✦ What is Modernism?
Modernism emerged in 17th and 18th century Europe as a rebellion against the tyranny of the Church and traditionalism.
◉ Key Background Factors:
- Church’s oppression: Priests monopolized religion and restricted free inquiry.
- Influence of Islamic civilization: In Spain and Southern Italy, Islamic thought planted seeds of freedom of thought.
- Scientific progress: Empirical science began challenging religious dogma.
✦ Core Beliefs of Modernism
✔ Reason, experience, and observation are the sole sources of knowledge.
✔ Metaphysical truths are rejected.
✔ Rationalism is prioritized.
✔ Religion is separated from reason and philosophy.
✦ Impact of Modernism
Religious: Rise of atheism and skepticism
Political: Spread of democracy, human rights, freedom
Economic: Birth of capitalism, later challenged by socialism
Moral: Utilitarianism replaces traditional ethics
Social: Emergence of feminism and other social movements
Modernism paved the way for the French Revolution, American independence, and Western democratic systems. By the mid-20th century, Western powers actively promoted modernist thought in the Muslim world, often opposing religious tradition.
✦ What is Postmodernism?
Postmodernism arose as a reaction to the absolutism of Modernism.
While modernists claimed universal truths, postmodernists rejected any form of ultimate authority, creating a new wave of intellectual rebellion.
✦ Core Beliefs of Postmodernism
✔ Relativity of truth: No absolute or universal truth; all knowledge is context-bound.
✔ Reality is subjective: Truth is what one chooses to see.
✔ Deconstruction: All ideologies, religions, philosophies, and systems are myths and should be deconstructed.
✦ Practical Effects of Postmodernism
➤ Undermining of ideology and meaning
➤ Promotion of religious pluralism (all religions as equal paths)
➤ Moral chaos: Marriage, family, and traditional sexuality labelled outdated constructs
✦ Critique of Postmodernism
✔ If all truth is relative, then postmodernism itself is not absolute — making it self-refuting.
✔ It creates social and legal chaos: If everyone creates their own truth, then law, ethics, and order become meaningless.
✦ Islam and Postmodernism
✧ Key Features of Islamic Thought:
① Limited Role of Human Reason:
Human intellect is useful but fallible; certain knowledge comes only through revelation.
② Supremacy of Revelation (Waḥy):
Reason and science are valuable, but must remain subordinate to divine guidance.
③ Room for Ijtihād (Independent Reasoning):
While core beliefs remain unchanging, Islamic law allows ijtihād to address evolving circumstances.
✦ Conclusion
✔ Postmodernism is an extreme reaction to the absolutism of modernity, and ends up rejecting its own foundations.
✔ In contrast, Islam offers a balanced worldview:
A system grounded in unchanging truth, yet flexible enough to accommodate change through ijtihād.
✔ Where modern and postmodern philosophies lead to confusion and contradiction, Islam provides clarity, stability, and purpose grounded in timeless revelation.
