When sociology contradicts philosophy: Afterthoughts on the forbidden modern
When sociology contradicts philosophy: Afterthoughts on the forbidden modern

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary sociologists of religion including Nilüfer Göle, Olivier Roy, and Jose Casanova successfully bring into light the transformed nature of Islamic religiosity from traditional contexts to urban zones in Turkey and Western Europe. Despite their assertion, however, Islamic modernity cannot merely be rooted in readily observable facts and ways of life mostly related to urbanization. Modernity is a phenomenon with philosophical foundations. Therefore, sociological arguments on Islamic modernity must be tempered by the yardstick of philosophical modernity, which is rooted in the early modern era thinker’s critique of ancient and traditional Christian political thought. In parallel, it is a mistake to talk of Islamic modernity without an authentic and self-generated critique of the Islamic Civilization. Within this context, the contemporary debate on the status of women in Islamic communities can be the harbinger of a greater philosophical transformation.

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