Islamic Enlightenment

The reinvigorated discussion centring on Islam needing its reformation and Muslims still being outside the orbit of the Enlightenment and thus being lost to obscurantist and sexist forces has led to polarised views for and against. This discourse had its roots in the colonial paradigms where creeds and customs of the colonised, along with their complexions, were, in general, seen to be premodern whose deliverance was to come through Western civilisation and its precepts and institutions. This cultural baggage, anchored on self-righteousness and more often combined with Christian evangelicalism, saw its proponents from among various walks of life, including writers, administrators, slavers, missionaries, ‘explorers’ and educationalists. Post-colonial and Subalterns studies may have their own retorts based on resistance, yet the fact remains that post-Columbian Europeanisation of the world is a powerful and ongoing reality. This imbalanced world that we live in can certainly benefit from human achievements, irrespective of their places and ethos of origins as long we eschew sheer negativity or uncritiqued compliance. De Bellaigue, with years of reporting from India and the Middle East,....