❖ The Decline of Enlightenment and the Path to Islamic Dominance ❖
✍ By: Javed Iqbal
◈ Introduction to Enlightenment
Enlightenment (Roshan Khiyali) is one of the most influential intellectual movements of Western civilization, rooted in the 18th-century Enlightenment period. Though formally initiated with Immanuel Kant, its preliminary ideas can be traced back to the 17th-century scientific revolution.
The outcome of this movement in the West was a rise in atheism and secularism. Today, those promoting so-called “Enlightened Moderation” within Muslim societies aim to subordinate Islamic civilization to Western ideologies. It is, therefore, imperative to evaluate Enlightenment thought from an Islamic perspective.
◈ Key Features of Enlightenment Philosophy
✦ A New Epistemology
The Enlightenment rejected religious sources of knowledge, particularly those of Christianity, and replaced them with human reason and empirical experience:
✔ Only that which can be verified through rational logic or empirical observation qualifies as knowledge.
✔ Concepts like God, angels, and the afterlife were deemed irrational, as they could not be proven through deductive or inductive methods.
◈ Enlightenment’s View of Man
- Self-sufficiency: Man is autonomous and has the right to reshape the world according to his will.
- Equality: All human beings are naturally equal in their abilities and rights.
- Reason & Progress: Rational thought enables man to conquer the universe and continuously reform it.
These metaphysical assumptions formed the foundation for Western civilization’s pursuit of global domination.
◈ Core Values of Enlightenment
① Liberty
The belief that man should have absolute freedom—to do whatever he pleases, without religious or moral boundaries.
② Equality
All human lifestyles and ideologies are equally valid, regardless of their moral or spiritual content.
③ Progress
Progress is defined purely in material terms—whether building a mosque or a bar, what matters is economic growth.
◈ Islamic Critique of Enlightenment Ideals
From an Islamic worldview, the core values of Enlightenment are entirely antithetical to Islam:
✔ Islam regards man not as autonomous, but as ‘abd (servant) of Allah.
✔ Absolute liberty that violates divine boundaries is unacceptable.
✔ True progress includes not only material development but also spiritual and moral refinement.
◈ Signs of the West’s Intellectual Decline
✦ Philosophical Crisis
The Postmodern movement in the West itself has exposed the falsehood of Enlightenment rationalism and epistemology.
✦ Demographic Collapse
Western nations face alarmingly low birth rates and rapidly declining populations.
✦ Economic Contradictions
The internal contradictions of the capitalist system point toward its eventual collapse.
◈ Social Sciences and the “Islamization” Dilemma
The West has utilized social sciences to propagate secular ideologies. In response, efforts to create “Islamic social sciences” are emerging within the Muslim world.
However, these efforts often merely dress Western theories in Islamic terms, without truly challenging their foundations.
◈ Islamic Democracy and Islamic Banking: A Deception
Terms like “Islamic democracy” and “Islamic banking” are compromises with the capitalist order.
Historically, from the Prophetic era to the Ottoman Caliphate, Islam thrived without democratic parliaments or modern banks.
◈ Jihād: The Only Path to Islamic Dominance
Islamic history affirms that the establishment of divine rule has always required jihād and military struggle.
Imam Hussain (RA) rose against Yazid with the understanding that if a secular order gained dominance, Islamic civilization would collapse.
❖ Conclusion: A Call for Islamic Awakening ❖
Today, the capitalist system is approaching its demise. The façade of Western “Enlightenment” has been unveiled.
It is now incumbent upon Muslims to abandon Western ideologies and strive for the dominance of Islam—not through intellectual surrender or compromise, but through reviving Islamic identity and commitment to jihād.
