ISLAM Vs MODERNITY

Islamic Development Theory and Countermodernism
Arising from the concept of development are a number of policy goals (Dr. Khurshid Ahmad 1980: "Economic Development in an Islamic Framework" 180 -184).Studies in Islamic Development (Jeddah: International Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, King Abdul Aziz University).
1) Human resource development should be concentrated on the inculcation of the right attitudes, aspirations, character, and personality and would call for the Islamization of education (Syed Naquib Al-Attas 1980:"The Concept of Education in Islam: A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education")
2) Production would be restricted to those goods and services which are deemed as useful for man in light of the value constellation of Islam.
3) Efforts to improve the quality of life include employment creation, the institutionalization of zakah (poor tax), and the equitable distribution of income and wealth through tax policies,
4.) Development should be along the line of regional and sectoral equality,

5.) Technology must be indigenized to suite the conditions of Muslim society,
6.) Economic dependency on the non-Muslim world must be reduced and integration within the Muslim world must be brought about.
Muslim scholars have an alternative concept of development, refusing to evaluate the backwardness and progress of Muslim societies in terms of Western theoretical perspective and values. In this way it is countermodenist in tone and can be added to the list of those other critiques of development such as liberation theology and feminist ecology (Kate Manzo 1991:"Modernist Discourse and the Crisis of Development Theory")

Islam vs Modernity
Henry Munson (1988) "Islam and Revolution in The Middle East" New Haven: Yale University Press, differentiates among various aspects of modernization:
…"But although opposition to technological and economic modernization is rare in the fundamentalist literature of the late twenties century, opposition to social modernization is not …social modernization entails the diminution of the role of religion in society and state – but not in the life of the individual. And fundamentalist Islamic ideologist definitely do oppose such secularization."
Modernization theory by Daniel Lerner quoted by Samuel Huntington (1968)"Political Order in Changes in Societies New Haven: Yale University Press,:
"Modernization is a process with some distinctive quality of its own, which would explain why modernity is felt as a consistent whole among people who live by its rules." The principal aspects of modernization" urbanization, industrialization, secularization, democratization educations, media participation do not occur in haphazard an unrelated fashion." At the psychological level, modernization involves a fundamental shift in values, attitudes and expectations. Traditional man expected continuity in nature and society and did not believe in the capacity of man to change or control either. "with this goes and increasing reliance on universalistic rather than particularistic values."
Ishak AR@copyright2010