On Monday, April 23, the Muslim Studenten Vereniging Twente organized a trip to the Islamic University in Rotterdam to attend a lecture relating to interfaith matters entitled 'Modernity and Islam.'
The university has been in operation since 1992 and offers a three-year bachelor's program in Islamic Sciences. The language of instruction is Arabic, which is why they also offer a two- year intensive Arabic language program for prospective students. This bachelor's program serves as a basis for one of three master's programs offered at the IUR which include Islamic Mental Health, Imam (Leadership) Education and Islamic Scientific Research. The university currently has 211 students enrolled and approximately 30 teachers.
The main speaker, Dr. Ibrahim Abu Rabi (professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, USA), joined members of the department of theology at Utrecht University in debating how modernity is viewed in the context of different religions. The theory that religion stands in the way of modernity of societies seems to be outdated and a new understanding of the matter is required. More specifically, how do Muslims view modernity and how does this view differ (if at all) from the Western view.
Rabi began by saying that although this subject is debated frequently, the real meaning of modernity is not really known, partly because of the fact that good literature on this subject is not abundant. He drew a distinction between the three terms: modernity, modernism and modernization and said that modernity referred to a collective advancement of societies which is evident from historical analysis.
Rabi said that there are different ways to achieve modernity within the realm of Islam, which include studying and modernizing the Islamic jurisprudence. Explaining further, Rabi said that some Western scholars, like the British Orientalist Bernard Lewis, are highly critical of Islam. Lewis, in his books, refers to many problems faced by Muslims all around the world including under-development, corruption, undemocratic governments etc. He claims that the root cause for these setbacks is not the Muslim populace, but rather the core teachings of Islam. Rabi averred that no credence should be lent to writers who have no formal education in Islam and yet pose as `experts' in matters of Islam in mass media.
Rabi insisted that no one can talk about Islamic identification and reformation without considering the Islamic tradition and history. The theology, philosophy and intellectualism that form the basis of Islam are all based on two main sources, the Quran and records of the life of Prophet Muhammad, popularly referred to as `Sunnah.' According to Rabi, there are followers of Islam in every part of the world; critics should not refer to a monolithic Islamic world. Rather, the Islamic identity can be divided into cultural zones according to various geographic regions such as African, South Asian, Arab, Turkish, Javanese, European and North American. He added that contrary to popular belief, many non-Muslim communities have remained for centuries in Muslim dominated areas. Examples include several Christian communities in Arab countries, the Arabic speaking Jews in Morocco before they migrated in the 1960s.
Later panelists and audience members, numbering nearly 50 both Muslim and non-Muslin, had a brief Q&A session with Rabi. In general most participants agreed that religion has played a vital role in the propagation of modernity and advancement of societies all over the world and that such discussions are necessary so that government policies can be shaped according to the peoples' interest.
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| The Islamic University in Rotterdam |
