Eighth to the Sixteenth Century - Rashid Islamic Center

Islam and Modern Science: The Colonial Era • 175Since humanity at its origin did not know the causes of theevents that passed under its eyes and the secrets of things, itwas perforce led to follow the advice of its teachers and theorders they gave. This obedience was imposed in the name ofthe Supreme Being to whom the educators attributed all events,without permitting men to discuss its utility or its disadvantages.This is no doubt for man one of the heaviest and mosthumiliating yokes, as I recognize; but one cannot deny that itis by this religious education, whether, it be Muslim, Christian,or pagan, that all nations have emerged from barbarism andmarched toward a more advanced civilization…If it is true thatMuslim religion is an obstacle to the development of sciences,can one affirm that this obstacle will not disappear someday?(Keddie 1968, 182–84)Al-Afghani’s apologetic approach betrays the weight of theprevious three centuries of Muslim disgrace. Yet he rests hisarguments on past glories he hopes return:I know all the difficulties that the Muslims will have tosurmount to achieve the same degree of civilization, access tothe truth with the help of philosophic and scientific methodsbeing forbidden them…but I know equally that this Muslimand Arab child whose portrait M. Renan traces in such vigorousterms and who, at a later age, became “a fanatic, full of foolishpride in possessing what he believes to be absolute truth,”belongs to a race that has marked its passage in the world,not only by fire and blood, but by brilliant sciences, includingphilosophy (with which, I must recognize, it was unable to livehappily for long). (Keddie 1968, 182–84)Ever since the first formulations of arguments such as Renan’s,many Muslim intellectuals have felt obliged to defend their religionagainst this argument—but only a few have attempted to recastthe entire discourse on a different foundation. They also did notchallenge the racialist elements in Renan and other writings of thetimes, for Renan was articulating a view generally held by manyEuropeans. Renan believed that in the final analysis, for reasonsinherent in Semitic languages, the Semites, unlike Indo-Europeans,did not and could not possess either philosophy or science. TheSemitic race, he said, is distinguished almost exclusively by its