The challenge of Islamic extremism (2)
This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts” run by a lecturer called Dr Farid Panjwani.
A major theme of the course was the clash between the historical experience of Islam and the colonial take-over of Muslim societies:
- Christianity was not a state religion until the Roman Emperor Constantine adopted the religion in the early 4th century.
- However, in the Muslim context, religion and politics came together immediately with Mecca as a mini state ruled by Muhammed.
- During the period of Muslim empires, there were great cultural achievements which made these societies the most advanced in the world at the time.
- But the decline of the political power of Muslim societies in the face of European colonialism led to a decline in religious power.
- Colonialism meant not just that another empire was in control, but that a more advanced or modern empire was dominant.
- Among Muslim societies, there are difference responses to modernity and different attitudes to the West.
Dr Panjwani explained the major consequences of colonialism and modernity for Muslim societies:
- A displacement from political power with the fall of old, long-standing empires
- The marginalisation of the Islamic legal tradition governing largely personal matters (sharia law)
- A challenge to social structures with new occupations and new gender roles
- Social conditions such as the power of political elites and high levels of unemployment that nurture rage and a sense of injustice
He defined modernity as involving the following:
- A belief in science and the power to control nature
- The privatisation of religion leading to secularisation
- An economic system based on free markets and growth
- A theoretical emphasis on equality
- The notion of the nation state and the supra-state
- An emphasis on individuality
Dr Panjwani explained that a key question for most Muslims around the world is: “How does one remain true to one’s religion while living a successful modern life?