Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000 Issue No.510

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The need to modernise

On the eve of Ramadan, prominent lawyer and Islamic thinker Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd was invited to speak on Islam and globalisation at the American University in Cairo (AUC) as part of its English Public Lecture Series. He was nothing if not bold in his critique of the way, in his view, Muslim societies have failed to embrace the opportunities presented by the on-going process of globalisation. He centred his argument on the idea that Muslims -- both individually and collectively -- must change their way of thinking, both conceptually and in practical terms, if they are not to be left permanently at an economic and social disadvantage.

Abul-Magd located three schools of Islamic thought which he said needed to be directly challenged. The first is that which interprets Islam literally, without any sense of priority or relativity. The second, which he termed "equally dangerous", is the belief Muslims have in abstract ideas, even where the very fundamentals of their daily routine are concerned. The third and final school is "angry Islam". This, he stressed, is not to be confused with what is popularly referred to as "fundamentalism", since that word "has been so widely abused that it now means nothing. If you don't like someone, he's a fundamentalist, and he has no way of proving otherwise."

It was the third idea, that of "angry activism", which most preoccupied Abul-Magd.

"It's a mixture of being an activist, of being dynamic, but also of being confused; not knowing what to do," he suggested. The end result, he continued, is that people lose touch with their social surroundings and the governments that represent them -- in other words, with reality as it is lived by most of their fellow citizens. This rejection develops into hatred, "and hatred very easily leads to violence."

This is not primarily a security problem, he argued, although it obviously has a security aspect. Rather, this issue should be addressed by psychologists, "who can best deal with these people's grievances and general confusion."

The challenges facing Islam, suggested Abul-Magd, are not related to faith as a way of life, or even as a system of law. "The problem is with Muslims," he stated. "We can't be blind to our problems and just spend the rest of our lives preaching Islam and giving advice."

The major challenge now is to reconcile the particularities of Islamic culture with the necessity of modernising and becoming a part of the wider world.

Which is better, he asked as his final question: to endlessly predict a clash of civilisations, or help to prevent such an eventuality?

Related links:
The American University in Cairo

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