Western Civilization and Different Approaches in the Islamic World
During the 10th and 11th centuries AH, after a period of progress, the Islamic civilization reached the verge of decline such that at the beginning of the 13th century AH it experienced a significant decline. “On the one hand, this decline made the Islamic world plagued by stagnation, poverty and misery, ignorance and fanaticism, oppression and tyranny, and backwardness, and on the other hand, it exposed the Islamic countries to the invasion of the West and the new Western civilization and culture; a civilization that had reached the Islamic world with the two tools of science, new industry and technology, and the political tools of colonialism.”
In response to such a situation and in order to save Islamic societies from the existing calamities, Muslim thinkers adopted three different and sometimes conflicting approaches:
Westernism: Observing the backwardness of the Islamic countries and the scientific and technological face of the West, this stream completely surrendered to this civilization without being able to distinguish between the scientific advances of the West and its colonial aspects thereby allowing for the all-inclusive Westernization.
“According to this stream, the West is not an enemy and we should follow its path to realize civilization and prosperity. Writers and intellectuals such as Tahtawi, Shibli Shamil and Taha Husayn among the Arabs and figures like Malkam Khan and Taqizadeh in Iran and Sayyed Ahmad Khan in India were some examples of the leaders of this movement in Islamic countries. One of the main characteristics of this movement is the complete imitation of Western culture and civilization, taking and adapting it without employing any specific standards, criteria and rules, losing self-esteem and identity in the face of the West, separating religion from politics, and liberalism and in short, compromising with and submission to the West.
Nationalism: the second approach to the current situation in the Islamic world is nationalism. By following the nationalistic approaches in the West and the formation of political identities based on nationality, this stream came to the conclusion that with such tendencies, a powerful identity could be developed vis-à-vis others including Islam and the West. “Political concerns of the Arabs during the 19th century along with the sense of frustration and also cultural weakness in the face of the West finally led to the acceptance of the Arab nationalist models, a nationalism that facilitated the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and played an important role in the independence of Arab countries.”
Atatürk’s radical Turkish nationalism and Reza Shah’s archaism are similar to and in line with this approach.
Islamism: Along with the two approaches of Westernism and nationalism, which propagated and promoted putting religion aside to gain prosperity and progress, the stream of Islamism had a different view. Islamists have various opinions and perceptions. Some believe that the reason for the backwardness lies in abandoning Islam and the lack of its implementation among Muslims. “They define Islam as a religion (ideology), man’s material world (comprehensive lifestyle) and government (a political order).”
Such theorizations led to the formation of three theoretical approaches and three sub-discourses regarding the relationship between religion and society. In this regard, modernism, shari’ahism and Islamic civilizationism could be recognized:
A: Modernism
Modernists are “a wide spectrum who differ in terms of the level of modernism and their approach towards it. However, all of them are fascinated by the West, rationalism, nationalism and new sciences.”
“The discourse of today’s modernism has been shaped through the framework of the religious thinking of some intellectuals and scholars. Islam in this discourse is manifested in the form of the interaction of reason and revelation and the eradication of superstitions from the traditions. This discourse gained dominance during the Ottoman period and the Constitutional era in Iran.” However, despite the initial efforts, it could not establish a comprehensive movement in the Islamic world.
In order to understand the discourse of modernism, it should be noted that in the confrontation between modernity and tradition, the followers of the former seek to move beyond traditions towards modernity, and willingly or unwillingly, reject any return to rules and relationships that pertain to the past while recognizing the religious values in the individual sphere. This attitude, which was propagated by secular intellectuals, became the focal point of religious intellectuals’ thoughts.
Shari’ahism
This stream looks at Western civilization through a negative lens replete with doubts and sometimes goes so far as to call every new phenomenon that enters Islamic society from the other side a symbol of disbelief. Of course, a limited part of this group has such a strict view on issues. The followers of Shari’ahism mostly insist on the necessity of adapting social laws and customs to Islamic shari’ah, but “in the meantime, consider preserving the shari’ah and rejecting ideas and views they recognize as incompatible with shari’ah, instead of trying to understand the nature of the new civilization and providing practical mechanisms for the implementation of religion in the society. In their opinion, the reason for the backwardness of the Islamic world lies in the Islamic society’s separation from Islamic principles, traditions, and teachings, and only by returning to these principles and values, the problems will be solved.
Civilizationism
Following the failure of the two previous streams, Islamic civilizationism emerged. This approach has its roots in the thoughts of great Islamic thinkers of the last century, especially after the Islamic Revolution. It could be argued that such a stream, with the thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei, is becoming an independent discourse in Islamic countries and Iran. Civilizationism seeks to link shari’ahism and modernism. Therefore, not only does it reject any contradiction between religion and categories such as modernization and social development, but also it describes the developments, scientific advancements and technology as the requirements and structures of human social life.
The point of difference between this view and Islamic modernism is that Muslim intellectuals have basically taken and adopted development models from that of modernity and merely focus on their apparent compatibility with Islamic law, whereas the civilizationist approach seeks to explain and establish development models within the framework of Islamic culture and divine teachings.
Reference: The Islamic Revolution Approach. Vol 11, No. 41, Winter 2017, Pp 27-50.
Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei
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