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ISLAM AND MODERNITY
Part - 2
The great philosophers of Islam like al-Farabi, Averros and Avicina rose
to the height of their fame after the Abbasid power began to decline. Of
course, the encyclopedic work like Ikhwanus Safa (The Brethren of Purity)
was written and compiled during the heydays of the Abbasids. There is a
great deal of controversy as to who compiled the work which could be
described as most modern of its time for its liberalism, openness and
sweep. The Isma'ilis claim that the work was compiled by their Imam Husain
al-Mastur to effectively reply to the Abbasids through their own weapon.
However, others feel that there was a society in Basra which met secretly
and discussed the most burning religious and philosophical questions of
the time and written records of these were maintained and these records
were later on compiled under the title Ikhwanus Safa. Whatever the truth,
the fact is that this encyclopedic work was very comprehensive and it runs
into 52 volumes, each volume devoted to some subject or the other. It
adopted the then most modern approach to the problems and discussed
everything in the light of reason and proved their contentions, even of
faith, by use of intellect and not blind belief.
It will be interesting to quote here from some philosophical and
theological works to show how philosophical and theological controversies
were debated in the light of reason. Even most orthodox theological
propositions were examined in the light of reason. I quote passages from
Al-Ghazali's Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (i.e. That Which Delivers from Error)
to show the nature of debates. It should be borne in mind that al-Ghazali
was an orthodox theologian and opposed to philosophical reasoning.
He wrote a book Tahafut al-Falasifa (i.e. Bewilderment of Philosophers).
Ibn Rushd, a great philosopher and the contemporary of Ghazali replied by
writing Tahafut, Tahafut al-Falasifa (i.e. Stupefication of the
Bewilderment of Philosophers).
Thus al-Ghazali says in one of his passages in his Munqidh min al-Dalal:
"In this and similar cases of sense-perception the sense as judge
forms his judgments, but another judge, the intellect, shows him
repeatedly to be wrong; and charge of falsity cannot be rebutted.
"To this I said: 'My reliance on sense-perception also has been
destroyed. Perhaps only those intellectual truths which are first
principles (or derived from first principles) are to be relied upon, such
as the assertion that ten are more than three, that the same thing cannot
be both affirmed and denied at one time, that one thing is not both
generated in time and eternal, nor both existent and non-existent, nor
both necessary and impossible.' ;"
Further Ghazali continues: "Sense-perception replied: 'Do you not
expect that your reliance on intellectual truth will fare like your
reliance on sense-perception? You used to trust in me, then along came the
intellect-judge and proved me wrong; if it were not for the
intellect-judge you would have continued to regard me as true. Perhaps
behind intellectual apprehension there is another judge who, if he
manifests himself, will show the falsity of intellect in its judging, just
as, when intellect manifested itself, it showed the falsity of sense in
its judging. The fact that such a supra-intellectual apprehension has not
manifested itself is no proof that it is impossible.' "
QUALITY OF ARGUMENTS
Ghazali then gives the example of dream: "My ego hesitated a little
about the reply to that, and sense-perception heightened the difficulty by
referring to dreams. 'Do you not see', it said, 'how when you are asleep,
you believe things and imagine circumstances, holding them to be stable
and enduring, and, so long as you are in that dream-condition, have no
doubts about them? And is it not the case that when you awake you know
that all you have imagined and believed is unfounded and ineffectual? Why
then are you confident that all your waking beliefs, whether from sense or
intellect, are genuine? They are true in respect of your present state;
but it is possible that a state will come upon you whose relation to your
waking consciousness is analogous to the relation of the latter to
dreaming.' "
The argument goes on. The question is not which point of view was right or
wrong; the more important question is the quality of arguments, their
objectivity and methodology which was quite modern. So the theological and
philosophical debates were intellectually rich and based on certain agreed
methodology which could be construed as quite modern from the norms of
those days.
Another parameter of modernity, though not insisted upon by Bernard Lewis,
but by some other Western scholars, is gender justice and human rights. If
we go by the Islamic ideals and not the practice in Muslim societies,
Islam stood for gender justice. The Qur'anic pronouncements in this
respect were quite revolutionary from the standards of those days. What is
most important is that Islam accepted the woman as a legal entity with
definite rights in terms of marriage, divorce, inheritance, maintenance,
property and so on.
But the conservative 'Ulama, under the influence of their own societies,
interpreted, in many cases through inventions of a Hadith (Prophet's
sayings), the Qur'anic verses in such a manner as to rob her of the very
rights granted to her, in many cases in the most unambiguous terms, by the
Divine Book. No other legal system by then had granted her legal
individuality, not even the Roman law, which was the most advanced law in
the pre-Islamic world.
However, the time was not ripe to practice gender justice as we understand
today, much less gender equality. Whatever was given to women was taken
away by the Muslim society through the backdoor. In that sense too, Islam
was a modern religion which, at least theoretically, brought about radical
change in the status of women. There is, therefore, an urgent need to
rethink women's rights related issues in the Muslim world. It is ironical
that the Muslim world is charged today with oppressing their women and
denying them justice.
As for democracy, the Qur'an requires the Holy Prophet to consult people
in secular matters, or matters relating to the community (see verses 3:159
and 42:38). This approach could have produced a democratic culture and the
early companions of the Prophet did practice it for a limited period of
time. However, soon such efforts were sabotaged by some power-hungry
people who converted Islamic democracy into dynastic rule. And the tryst
with democracy ended there and Muslim society has not known democracy and
democratic values ever since.
Feudalism and authoritarianism which were totally alien to the Islamic
spirit came to be legitimised and most oppressive and exploitative regimes
came into existence in the Islamic history. The early democratic spirit
was never re-discovered. it is only in our time that some Islamic
countries have ushered in democracies to varying degrees. But, it must be
admitted that most of the Muslim countries are ruled by monarchs or
military dictators. Thus we have to face the odium that Islam is against
modernity.
ISLAMIC WORLD AND MODERNITY
The response of Islamic countries to the concept of modernity as it
obtains today varies from country to country. One thing in common, again
with one or two honourable exceptions, is that all of these countries have
accepted domination of the West, particularly the USA.
Some of them even consider this domination as the ultimate in modernity
although their societies continue to be utterly feudalistic in values.
Neither do they have democracy nor any trace of gender justice. However,
most of these countries vie one with the other in buying latest weaponry
from the West. This also is considered by them as a symbol of modernity.
In Saudi Arabia, Saudis are governed by a highly authoritarian monarchy
with no trace of democracy or gender justice. In this so-called Islamic
regime women enjoy no independence worth the name. Though they are allowed
to work in establishments run only by women, they are not free to work
anywhere else. They are not allowed to go out alone without being
accompanied by a mehram i.e. a man within the prohibited degree of
marriage.
No independent thinking in the fields of religion, philosophy and other
social sciences is permitted. In every field there are pre-established
official dogmas to which all Saudi citizens have to conform. There is no
respect for human rights as there is no democracy. So all parameters of
modernity are absent.
Yet one finds a superficial aura of modernity. The Saudi cities are
concrete jungles including the holy cities of Mecca and Madina. There is
so much blind imitation of the West in designing buildings that no trace
of Islamic heritage has been left. There is no Islamic ambiance even
outside the holiest mosque of the Islamic world to which millions of
pilgrims flock every year i.e. K'aba. Just outside the holiest mosque of
the Islamic world there are huge concrete buildings. Mecca appears to be
like any other Western city. No attempt has been made to preserve its
Islamic heritage, not even in architecture. Could this be construed
modernity? If it is, it is very superficial.
There is no re-thinking of Islamic issues, no freedom of thought, no
critical evaluation of Saudi practices but only blind imitation of the
West in its worst aspects mindless urbanisation and disruption of old
patterns of living. Also, the Saudi rulers buy huge stockpiles of Western
arms which only increases their servility to the West. More arms they
purchase from the West, more dependent they become on it.
HUMAN RIGHTS EQUAL MODERNITY
Earlier the Shah of Iran had also followed similar policies. He tried to
impose forcibly the western modernism on a highly traditional society. The
Shah also wanted to become regional satrap by stockpiling Western arms.
There was no trace of democracy in Iran during his regime and no respect
for human rights which are important parameters of modernism. Also, if
women were allowed to wear mini skirts, could it be taken as sign of
gender justice? In fact women were far from enjoying higher status in the
Shah's Iran.
After the revolution Ayatollah Khomeini also tried to impose many
restrictions on women. Chador was made compulsory. Also, the traditional
laws as regards women were not changed. However, women in
post-revolutionary Iran are becoming quite conscious of their rights. Iran
is one of the few Islamic countries which allows women to contest
elections and now a woman has also become Vice- President of Iran. In
Kuwait it is still being debated whether women could be given right to
vote. In appearance Kuwait is one of the most modern cities of the world
but its society still continues to be medieval.
In all these countries except Iran there is total dependence on the West
for arms as well as for economic development. They have no ability for
developing modern science and technology or independent thinking in social
or religious matters. Egypt produced many modern thinkers but it is also
regressing now and fundamentalism has raised its head. In Egypt also there
is a lack of democracy and human rights. In relation to women too, the 'Ulama
of al-Azhar are resisting change. So the record of gender justice is not
very bright in Egypt too. However, compared to other Islamic countries,
Egypt is relatively more advanced.
Pakistan had much better record until Zia's time. Zia's political Islam
pushed Pakistan, too, back to medieval thinking in religious matters.
Democracy there is not more than a decade old. In post-Zia-ul-Haq period
democracy is striking roots but the people of Pakistan are not very sure
when military will intervene again. Zia's fundamentalist Islam also
deprived women of their many rights which otherwise they had gained
through their struggles.
Thus it will be seen that though Islamic society had much better record in
terms of modernity during early period of Islam, the Islamic societies
today have regressed to medieval ages though they claim to be
superficially modern. Most of the Islamic societies have neither
democracy, nor concept of human rights or gender justice nor capacity for
independent development of science and technology.
Ends.
Source: http://www.dawoodi-bohras.com
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