The question of multiple modernities in Islam : examining methodology and approach to Islamic studies

The secularisation thesis (in its various forms) proposes that religions are less authoritative and less institutionally powerful and influential in modernity. Although contentious, it is undeniable that secularisation of some sort has accompanied modernities both Western and non-Western. Peter Berger defined secularisation as ‘the process whereby sectors of society and culture are removed from the domination of religious institutions and symbols’ (The Social Reality of Religion, Faber, 1969, p. 107). Therefore, secularisation permits the distinction between religion and civilisation; the latter embodying culture, tradition and identity. This paper asserts that the cultural products of Islamic civilisation, which are not the property of religious Islam and can be separated from it, such as Islamic arts and sciences, can contribute to progress and development in the modern era. Thus, it is arguable that the culture of Islam is more likely to be compatible and cohesive with modernity, whereas religious Islam remains incompatible until re-adjustment along the lines of secularisation (Liberalisation/ Reform), such as has been experienced by Christianity in the West. This ‘requirement’ of change has led to reactions to or rejections of Modernity by religious Islam (Fundamentalism)