Сборник текстов (ридер) к модулю повышения квалификации по истории ислама (Сост. И. Ю. Морозова) Берлин 2012

We have seen above that an adequate Islamic intellectual tnilieu still remains to be created in the Muslim world. Until this is achieved, little can be done to Start the necessary debate on socio-moral issues, a debate which must be uninhibited, self-confident, non-controversialist and non-apologetic. Nevertheless, a good deal of writing on social issues has taken place, and much actual social change is taking place in Muslim society. The primary reasons for this are, as we have noted before, first that the actual impact of the modern West on Muslim society has been largely on the socio-political front; and, secondly, that the main criticisms of Islamic society both by Christian missionaries and orientalists have been on these very aspects. The early Westernizing Modernists like Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Sayyid Amir 'Ali advocated almost without demur the adoption of modern Western concepts of the family (particularly with regard to the Status of women), and equally of modern Western forms of democracy. Indeed, while speaking about Jamal al-DIn al-Afghani, we also said that the democratization of the State was even seen as an internal necessity, in order to build up strong governments based on the popular will. So far as reforms in family law in particular and the Status of women in general are concerned, a very large number of Muslim states have actually enacted legislation, taking up the threads from the early Modernists, and in spite of the strong reaction which was directed against this early Modernism by the revivalists and the conservatives. In Pakistan, for example, although even the most important thinker of this Century, Muhammad Iqbäl, had thrown his weight practically on the side of the conservatives on social issues, the Family Laws Ordinance was promulgated in i960. The conservative 'ulama' and their followers, no doubt, continue to exert pressure for the restoration of the traditional Status quo, but the Modernist minority in Muslim countries, relatively small but vigorous, is politically influential, and holds the initiative, and it looks as though it is impossible for the conservatives to reverse this movement. There is no doubt that on this question the Modernist's stand is on surer grounds, and is helped by the conviction that the new legislation will tighten up the conditions of family life in Muslim society. The conservative or the revivalist, therefore, despite his ostensible appeal to Islam, feels in his heart of hearts that he is on shaky moral grounds in defending the traditional pattern.

The second question in regard to the nature of the State is the problem of democracy. The contention of the early Modernists that the governments must be based on the populär will through some form of representation is generally accepted; and in fact the Modernist contends, not without plausibility, that since Islam is democratic in its ethos, the adoption of modern democratic institutions cannot be un-Islamic. But the problem does not stop here, and is further complicated by two important factors. First, in all these countries there is a relatively small minority which is educated in the modern sense, and which controls affairs, while the vast majority are illiterate. It is not easy to implement democracy under such circumstances. On major and clear-cut national questions, it is true, even an uneducated person mäy.be able to perceive the issues clearly, but in a democracy not all issues that are debated are so clear-cut. But even more acute than lack of education, although undoubtedly allied to it, is the question of rapid economic development, which is a common problem in the under-developed countries, including all the Muslim countries. The economicproblem has many ramifications, including the moral demands for honesty, integrity and a sense of responsibility. The exigency of the Situation further demands a very high degree of centralized planning and control of economic development. This is feit to necessitate much stabler and stronger governments than would be the case if democracy were superficially and ;nominally allowed to work. It is this ubiquitous phenomenon which results in the appearance of strong men to give stability to these countries, primarily in the interests of economic growth. From the Islamic point of view, there can be no härm in this, provided that, at the same time, the spirit of democracy is genuinely and gradually cultivated among the people.

All Muslim countries have adopted modern educational institutions in the form of universities, academies and Colleges. This fact itself constitutes one of the most important, probably the most important, fact of social change. It is almost universally true that when these institutions. were first adopted by Muslim peoples, they represented modern Western secular education with primary emphasis on ist technological aspects. The idea behind this has been that, since the traditional society of Islam had put too much emphasis on spirituality, the balance should be restored by the inculcation of modern technological skills. A combination of modern technology, with its vast potentiality for the production of goods, and the traditional Spiritual heritage would, it was thought, regenerate the classical glory and greatness ofMuslim society. It is, however, obviously doubtful whether the superficial thesis of a marriage between Eastern spirituality and modern Western technology is meaningful or tenable. Along with the technical and scientific subjects, modern philosophy and thought were also taught, while the seats of traditional learning continued side by side with modern educational institutions. The first problem arising from this phenomenon that has a direct bearing on social change is the education of women. An increasingly large number of modern Colleges and universities are co-educational. Although there is still a certain amount of resistance to the large-scale education of women and particularly to co-education, there is little doubt that female education is fait accompli. Its sociological consequences are, of course, far-reaching and will bear fruit in their fullness in a few decades' time.

But the more important educational problem is the Integration of the new and the old; or, rather, the assimilation of the ever increasing content of modern knowledge with Islamic culture and its values. It is primarily a lack of Integration that has so far resulted in a fundamental dichotomy of the Muslim society. To begin with, it is obvious that the simple borrowing of a foreign System of education, shorn of the Spiritual, moral and cultural basis which gave birth to it, is not likely to produce results, unless a new and adequate basis for it is created from Islamic tradition and its values. As pointed out before, even with regard to pure technology, it is more than doubtful whether it will lead to the material creativity envisaged, unless it is made the proper instrument of a system of values adequately adjusted to it. Among the countries of the East, only Japan seems to make great technological headway while keeping its traditional cultural background. But developments in Japan after the Second World War render this view much less acceptable, since during the past two decades, the religiocultural heritage of Japan has itself been invaded by new ideas on a large scale. To put the matter quite concretely, an engineer may know how to build a bridge; but why he should build one, and with what efficiency and zeal, depend entirely on the values that motivate him. His skill, therefore, must be made part and parcel of a total cultural pattern. But leaving technology a&tde, the modern humanities of the West themselves are replete with certain moral and cultural values which may be said to belong to the Western tradition, and some, indeed, may be traced back clearly to Christianity. Indeed, it is doubtful whether such a seemingly purely rational System of philosophy as that of Immanuel Kant would have been possible without the Christian tradition. This raises questions of a fundamental order for Muslim society and for ist assimilation, modification, or rejection, of the content even of purely Western thought.

But the Muslim world is not intellectually equipped to undertake this task as yet. It is only when the modern and the traditional Systems of education are properly combined and adjusted that intellectuals will arise adequate to meet this challenge. At the moment, by and large, the traditional seats oflearning continue to function separately from modern universities. So far it is only at al-Azhar in Cairo that certain subjects of modern humanities are taught side by side with traditional subjects, but it is doubtful if their level is very high or their effects are very deep. In Pakistan, the traditional madrasas strongly resist any encroachment upon their time-honoured and age-worn curricula, and the teaching of Islam in the modern universities, which has started since Independence, is very limited in its nature and rather ineffective. The teachers, and certainly the trainees, in these 'Departments of Islamiyyat', are not even equipped with the primary instruments of Islamic studies such as the Arabic language. A real, effective renaissance of Islam is not possible until educational developments reach the point of contributing from an Islamic Standpoint to the humanities of the world at large.