Author: Mohajer Azizi
Analysis and Criticism of Modernism in the Light of Islam (Part two)
The Origin and Concept of Modernism
A: Lexical Meaning:
“Modernism” is made up of the combination of the two words “Modern” and the suffix “ism”. The word “Modern” originally has a Latin and European root and means “new” in contrast to “old”.
However, the French word Modernité is derived from the root Mode, which means “style”, “appearance” or “a manner in accordance with the present time”. Some linguists, including the compilers of the Le Robert dictionary, believe that the first person to use this word was the famous French writer Balzac. He used the word Modernité for the first time in 1823. [1]
It is stated about how this word became a specific term: “This word was initially used to distinguish between the ancient Roman past and the Christian present, and its semantic load was a kind of admission of transformation and change. Gradually, the use of the word Modernité became wider and became an indicator of intellectual openness and freedom of thought; it was also considered a sign of transformation and desire for a future different from the past. The word Modernité also became popular as a philosophical term in Western circles around 1850.” [2]
B: Meaning of the term
Modernism in Arabic: (الحداثة) is a philosophical, intellectual and artistic movement that is difficult to provide a comprehensive and single definition of, because this concept has been examined from various perspectives and each perspective provides a different definition of it. Below, some main approaches to the definition of modernism are mentioned:
Modernism as an unknown phenomenon:
In this view, modernism is considered a vague, complex, and multifaceted concept that is difficult to understand and establish precisely. This understanding shows that modernism has diverse and sometimes contradictory signs, such that it cannot be easily understood or limited to a clear definition.
Modernism in connection with nature and rationalism:
In this definition, modernism is considered as a movement that considers intellect as the fundamental tool for dominating existence, knowledge, and human action. This view emphasizes the role of rationality in reconstructing the world and man’s domination over nature.
Modernism in opposition to traditional heritage:
In this view, modernism is a movement that has come into conflict with religious, cultural, and historical heritage and has set it aside. This definition considers modernism as a factor in breaking with tradition and founding a new intellectual and cultural situation.
Modernism in connection with the Church and the religious crisis in the West:
In this definition, modernism is presented as a set of laws and ideas that seek to reconstruct social structures, cultural conventions, and the power of the Church. This movement was formed in response to the religious and social crises of Europe in the Middle Ages and tried to establish a new social order by trying to get rid of the authority of the Church,.
Modernism in the context of the civilizational confrontation between East and West:
In this view, modernism is considered a tool for imposing the Western model, especially by America, on the world. In this context, modernism is introduced as an attempt to eliminate the civilizational and identity challenges of other nations and to consolidate the dominance of the West.
Some Arab thinkers and critics have also offered several definitions of modernity, each looking at the concept from a specific angle:
Abdul Aziz Hamoudah, a prominent Arab critic, defines modernism as follows: “Modernism, whether in its Arabic or Western sense, moves towards the destruction of the foundations of the traditional system.” [3]
In another definition, Muhammad Sabila introduces modernism as follows: “Modernism is a philosophical and intellectual foundation in the West in which the criterion of the value of man and life is intellect and knowledge. This trend is based on rationalism, scientific tools, practical effort, the development of empirical sciences and humanities, and is founded on the basis of rationality and experience.” [4]
Continues…
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References:
1. The Modernists’ Position on Issues of Doctrine, p. 3.
2. Ibid, p. 3.
3. Abdul Aziz Hamoudah, “Modern Mirrors from Structuralism to Deconstruction,” p. 2.
4. Muhammad Sabila, “In Defense of intellect and Modernity,” p. 22.
