Muslim Responses to Modern Science in Islam

3 Questions

Match the following terms with their meanings:

Ijtihad = Innovative reasoning in integrating Western science with Islamic science Taqlid = Imitative reasoning that was delegitimized by 19th-century Muslim thinkers Islamisation discourse = Focusing on integrating the best of the West into Islam Colonisation = Introduction of modern European institutions into the Islamic world

Match the following statements with their correct implications:

Muslims 'pressed to resolve overnight what had taken centuries in Europe' = Facing theological concerns and intellectual challenges in synthesising religion and science under time pressure Delegitimising taqlid and opening primary sources for reinterpretation = Activating the idea of ijtihad to integrate Western science with Islamic science Adopting social benefits of modern science but on their own terms = Utilizing supposedly 'value-neutral' Western science to overcome material deficiencies Focus of Islamisation discourse on integrating the best of the West into Islam = Not aiming to reject the West, but to incorporate beneficial aspects

Match the following concepts with their historical context:

Western ideas of science developed in 17th-18th century Europe = Overlooked by earlier efforts for synthesis in Islam Activation of ijtihad by 19th-century Muslim thinkers = To integrate Western science with Islamic science and overcome material deficiencies Introduction of modern European institutions during colonisation = Prompting reinterpretation of primary sources in adaptation with modern dictates Willingness to adopt social benefits of modern science by 19th-century Muslim thinkers = 'Value-neutral' Western science utilized to address material deficiencies

Study Notes

Muslim Responses to Science and Islam

19th-century Indian Muslim philosopher and reformist Syed Aḥmed Khān believed that both the 'word of God' (revelation) and the 'work of God' (nature) describe reality in complementary ways.
According to Khān, understanding of the 'word of God' should conform with the correct interpretation of the 'work of God' or nature, which is evident in modern science.

Approaches to Integrating Islam and Science

Some Muslim intellectuals, like Maurice Bucaille, sought to establish a sense of unity between Islam and science by showing that many findings of modern science are in conformity with the Quran.
Others, however, refuted such positivistic analyses and sought a reconstruction of the scientific study of nature to introduce a better integration between modern and Islamic sciences.

Early 19th-Century Islamisation Trend

The thinking of Azhar scholar Rifāʿa al-Ṭahṭāwī epitomises the early-19th-century Islamisation trend.
Ṭahṭāwī sought to induct modern science into Islamic education, viewing it as a means to resolve existing problems, provided it works under the supervision of sharīʿa law.
He believed that modern science, if adequately funded and allowed to function independently, would empower modern Muslim states to resolve many of their civilisational problems.

Challenges and Concerns

Muslims have encountered similar theological concerns and intellectual challenges to those that European proponents of science encountered, but with a key difference: they were 'pressed to resolve overnight what had taken centuries in Europe'.
Earlier efforts for synthesis overlooked the fact that Western ideas of science were produced in certain 17th- and 18th-century European historical, social, and political conditions.

Islamisation Discourse

The Islamisation discourse does not aim to reject the West as such, but rather focuses on how the best of the West can be integrated into Islam.
19th-century Muslim thinkers sought to activate the idea of ijtihād (innovative reasoning) in order to integrate Western science with Islamic science.
They delegitimised taqlīd (imitative reasoning) and opened primary sources for reinterpretation in adaptation with the dictates of modern European institutions.