Modern Islam

Modern Islam: The Search for Cultural Identity offers a compelling examination of the Islamic community's evolving response to its encounters with Western influence over the past century. This anthology of papers explores the trials and transformations that have emerged from these interactions, highlighting Islam's enduring task of uncovering latent cultural and intellectual potential while aligning traditional values with the liberating and challenging forces of modernity. Through an analysis deeply rooted in Arabic sources, the volume extends its relevance to the broader Muslim world and even to developing nations beyond Islam, offering a nuanced understanding of how cultural identity is negotiated under external pressures.

The book emphasizes the dynamic interplay between the cohesiveness of the Muslim community and the shifting attitudes of the West, which remains in a state of self-examination. By focusing on the self-images constructed and reconstructed by Muslim societies, the work reveals the intricate processes of cultural adaptation and renewal. With its thoughtful synthesis of historical and contemporary perspectives, Modern Islam provides a vital resource for understanding the cultural and ideological currents shaping the modern Muslim world, making it essential reading for scholars of Islamic studies, cultural history, and global interactions.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1962.