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| The Hindu Phenomenon |
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RETREAT AND RAGE |
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the beginning of the eighteenth century, Muslim thinkers and men of
action have tried to inaugurate a new era in their history. Their
failure to do so is obvious. At various places, beginning with the
seat of Ottoman power in Anatolia itself, and at various times,
beginning possibly with Shah Waliullah in Delhi at the beginning of
the eighteenth century, they have tried different strategies -
modernization of the armed forces and administration, Western-style
education, reinterpretation of the Koran and return to pristine
Islam, Western ideologies from liberalism to Marxism via fascism,
pan- Islamism and pan-Arabism. Nothing has worked. (For details see
David Pryce-Jones, The Closed Circle) 3.
The reason for this world-wide
failure are many and complex. Among the most important is the nature
of Islam itself. Very early in its history, Islam closed itself on
itself. By insisting on the finality of Mohammed's revelation and
the immutability of both the Koran and the Sunnah, Islam ensured
that there could be no place in it for self-renewal and there has
been no self-renewal in Islam as its students would accept. |
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