Islamic Fundamentalism and Modernity

Islam is more than a set of religious beliefs and practices. It is also a holistic civilizational force that encompasses the believer with a tradition that has profoundly significant historical roots. This tradition, in turn, forms an ideal that gives the pious Muslim a model for the good life that he or she is religiously required to realize. Thus, the good life and the good society cannot be found through the uncritical acceptance of all things modern or the simple imitation of a Western lifestyle. Rather, they are to be found in an understanding and adaptation, within a contemporary context, of the traditional values and worldview of a past time and place-especially the time of the founder of Islam and the uncorrupted society he established. This orientation is brought out in details in this book and places it is a proper perspective.