Article Reviews Example Islamic Modernism

Reflection on the Article

Islamic Modernism is an article that constitutes on various disciplines and how well they fit in the Islamic doctrine and realm. This review will extensively focus on the fourth and fifth chapters of the article that respectively dwell on sociological laws and the Quran and the necessity of religious reforms. In the fourth chapter, The Sociological laws and Quran, Mohamed Abduh explains in the Quranic context how sociological laws are categorized and applied. The author talks about the place of sovereignty and leadership in Islamic societies. Abduh appreciates how sovereignty allows societies to grow and in turn identify the notables and leaders amongst them. The notables are integral in agitating for independence and identification of leaders who act as symbols of unity in Muhammadan societies. The author further pinpoints the role of Quran and Allah in offering direction and restraint in advancing general sociological principles such as “survival for the fittest” and “natural selection”. The Quran is instrumental in ensuring that the balance between good and bad is maintained thus effectively boosting the advancement of Islamic societies and civilizations.
The fifth chapter, The Necessity of Religious Reforms by Mohamed Abduh focuses on the evolution of religion as a tool of dictating man’s “private and public conduct”. The author uses the Egyptian Islamic community to illustrate the benefits of religious reforms. This is characterized by restructuring of the Islamic education systems by introducing other integral disciplines such as sciences. The author, in this chapter, advances that religion coupled with these disciplines will bring forth acceptable and beneficial reforms progressively in the Egyptian society. This will essentially occur without overlooking the basic tenets of the Islamic doctrine. The reformation “is not only a reform in the religious institutions but is also an important social revolution”. The social revolution will ensure that the Egyptian society deviates from the backward Oriental culture into an objective society that embraces “will and endurance, accustomed to effort and hardships”. The author notes that for the reformation to occur in Egypt there must be devotion on the part of the leadership to exert effort and power for a long time.