01-Contents Page.indd - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

ideological divisions
IIIb.islamic modernism
Islamic modernism is a reform movement started by politically-minded
urbanites with scant knowledge of traditional Islam. These people had
witnessed and studied Western technology and socio-political ideas, and
realized that the Islamic world was being left behind technologically by the
West and had become too weak to stand up to it. They blamed this weakness
on what they saw as ‘traditional Islam,’ which they thought held them back and
was not ‘progressive’ enough. They thus called for a complete overhaul of Islam,
including—or rather in particular—Islamic law (shari‘a) and doctrine (‘aqida).
Islamic modernism remains popularly an object of derision and ridicule, and is
scorned by traditional Muslims and fundamentalists alike.
IIIc.islamic fundamentalism
SUNNI
Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood, or Al Ikhwan Al Muslimeen is a transnational Sunni
movement, with no particular ideological agenda. It is the largest political
opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly in Egypt where it was
founded in opposition to colonial rule by Hassan al Banna in 1928.
Al Banna originally sought to revive Muslim culture from its position of
exploitation under colonial rule, through charitable and educational work: to
give Islam a central role in people’s life. Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966 CE) was also a
leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s.
Wahhabism/Salafism
Wahhabism/Salafism are terms used interchangeably to refer to a particular
brand of Islam. Salaf, meaning predecessors in Arabic, refers to the very early
practice of Islam by Muhammad and his immediate successors. Salafism
proposes to revive the practice of Islam as it was at the time of the Prophet and is
critical of emphasis being placed on thinkers from after this period. Muhammad
ibn ‘Abd al Wahhab (1703-1792 CE) was the central figure in the formulation of
this ideology therefore Salafism is often simply known as Wahhabism.
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