Fundamentalism and Secularization by Mourad Wahba Robert K. Beshara

Author:Mourad Wahba, Robert K. Beshara
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781350228702
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

4

Postmodernism and Fundamentalism

If fundamentalism is anti-secular, and if secularization is the hallmark of modernism, then fundamentalism is antimodern. What is intended by modernism, in Daniel Bell’s opinion, is getting away from the authority of the past, diminishing the scope of the sacred, and following the Faustian spirit when it comes to general knowledge.1

Peter Berger goes further than Bell; he views modernism as a type of heresy, particularly in the Third World, because it unsettles traditional values that are based on fate [al-qadr, or divine destiny]. From time immemorial, sex and procreation were tied to fate. Modernism came on the scene, denied fate, and advocated choice. There is a difference between fate and choice. In the first case, the feature of certainty substantially characterizes social institutions. There is but one way of dealing with social matters, marriage, child rearing, and the exercise of power. As for the second case, there are alternatives, hence a multiplicity. The modern human is faced with multiple choices in the field of action, rather in the field of thinking.

The question remains:

Is postmodernism antimodern?

The expression “post” traditionally means connection without separation. This expression was added first to the term “physis” [nature] as in “metaphysis” [post-nature]. The coinage of this term can be attributed to one of the followers of Aristotle, who was concerned with organizing his writings and found fourteen books numbered according to the Greek alphabet, which comprise three major research projects: the principles of knowledge, Being’s generalities, and the prime mover. These projects fell sequentially after “physics,” so this follower called them “metaphysics” based on their arrangement. Herein lies the connection between “physics” and “metaphysics”: understanding the book Metaphysics is not possible without reading Physics.

However, connection does not signify coherence between the anterior and the posterior; it means parting. We may imagine parting as separation. However, the truth of the matter is that what parted is a negation of that from which it parted, that is, the posterior’s negation of the anterior.

Some say, for example, “post-industrial society,” which is the expression of American sociologist Daniel Bell, rather it is the title of his book, The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society, which was originally a research paper that he presented at an international conference in Zurich in June 1970. Bell means with this expression the transformation of modern society from the production of goods to a service economy, the establishment of theoretical knowledge as the source of creativity, a new rational technology, and changing the social structure.

Moreover, some claim “post-historical,” which is a term coined by Japanese scholar Francis Fukuyama that appeared in his 1989 article, The End of History?, wherein he establishes that there are essential events in the current world-historical period, which are the reform movements in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as well as the dissemination of consumer culture. These events are evidence of “The triumph of the West, of the Western idea” [Fukuyama, 1989, p. 3, emphasis in original]. He goes on to say:

What we may be witnessing is not just

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.