Islamic Modernities in World Society - (Edinburgh Studies of the Globalised Muslim World) by Dietrich Jung (Hardcover)

About the Book

Offers a new understanding of the relation between Islam and modernity, informed by social theory.

Book Synopsis

How is one 'authentically' modern? Substantively drawing on contemporary social theory, this book investigates the multiplicity of answers that Muslims have given to this question since the end of the nineteenth century. Through six historical and thematic case studies, the chapters examine the historical evolution of multiple modernities within Islam. The book argues that we can observe the rise and spread of a relatively hegemonic idea according to which a relation to Islamic traditions bestows projects of Muslim modernities with cultural authenticity. At the same time, the book provides an interpretation of this specifically Islamic discourse of modernity as an inherent part of global modernity in conceptual terms understood as the emergence of world society.

Review Quotes

Jung's study is an inspiration and a textbook example of how scholars might proceed when they want to combine global (theoretical macro-perspectives) and local (empirical micro-perspectives) in one study. On this note, I think (and hope) that Islamic Modernities in World Society: The Rise, Spread, and Fragmentation of a Hegemonic Idea will be an inspiration for and an influence on future studies.--Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg "Religion"

A lively book in which social theory and observation flows effortlessly to tell the story of how Muslims across multiple continents navigate the challenges of modernity. Dietrich Jung is an astute observer, and what the author dubs as his 'last act' on the topic of Muslim peoples' encounter with modernity will no doubt spur productive debate and conversation.--Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame

In this solid theoretical and empirical work, Jung effectively lays to rest the view that Islam is monolithic and not modern. Instead, multiple Islamic modernities have been entangled in the emergence of a single world society, co-constructing world societal systems and providing resources for modern individual and institutional agency.--Peter Beyer, University of Ottawa