Islam and Progress: Between Tradition and Modernity

Abstract

In the course of rethinking how Muslim communities have historically reacted to progress and integrated its achievements into their lives, we tried to revisit the reasons why the Islamic world has preserved a deep rift between tradition and modernity. Looking at the debate in theological and near-theological circles amongst Muslim thinkers and theorists of the past, we conclude that one of the major issues in terms of philosophical grounds is that religion has become associated with tradition more than with the revelation. Religion teaches timeless principles, while tradition adheres to past practices, which are time-bound. When tradition is treated as religion, problems arise, for traditional practices can conflict with modern ones. A large portion of the Muslim world has difficulties in adapting to modernity, and this is related to the fact that religiosity has become associated with feudalism and ritual. While a strong suggestion is to discursively separate religion from politics, this article nevertheless begins by exploring how progress in the Muslim world is affected by the confluence of tradition and revelation, among other factors. The two case studies based on the analysis of the specifics of modernization in Turkey and Iran are highlighted the trends that hinder technological progress in the countries of the Islamic world.