What are the effects of modernization on Muslims?

Answer 1

Modernization is a huge variety of different concepts that shook the Arab World in the late 1800s and early 1900s and there are a few important effects to speak of in general terms:

Political Organization of Muslim-majority States: The Muslim-majority world made the fundamental shift from large multi-ethnic, multi-religious empires to modern countries and nation-states. Unlike Europe, where this transition took nearly 300 years, it happened in less than a century in the Islamic World, leading to incredible culture shocks and readjustments. Among the results of this quick movement is that political goals for Muslims to create the modern Muslim-majority state are not unified and incredibly diverse (see next point).

Political Goals of Muslim-majority States: In the Muslim Medieval Period (which only ended in the late 1800s) the Muslim-majority state was only interested in pursuing a strong relationship between Islam and the State, but not unified governance. The Muslim Empires were united only by the strong power of an Emperor, Sultan, King, Emir, or other dictatorial leader. When modernity hit, a wide variety of other governing goals and ideals came into the fore. In places such as Turkey, there was a move towards Secularism and the banishment of Islam from any state apparatus. In places like Egypt, there was Arab Socialism and Pan-Arabism, which sought to create states based on Arab Unity and Arab Values. Although many of these values come from Islam, their legitimacy now came from Arabs holding to those values rather than Islam having provided them. There was also the Islamist movement which saw only Islamic Values and Islamic Law is being the rightful government and held that a true merger between Islamic Jurists and the Government could rule morally and properly. This motivated the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Levant as well as Ayatollah in Iran. Finally, there was Nationalism and Separatism which sought to cultivate localized senses of ethnic-unity, holding that there was something endemic to local character that would bring both Muslims and non-Muslims in a certain area together, such as Pakistanis, Tunisians, and Moroccans.

Religious Organization of Islam: Islam as a religious organization was also broken by the modern period (not the religion per se, but the way it was organized and led). During the Islamic Medieval Period, the Sunni World was led by the Caliph. Beneath the Caliph was an informal system where the Qadis or Islamic Judges served as the Islamic Jurists "to the mass" and the Sufis served as the Spiritualists for "the masses". In this way, people would know the rules of the faith and also have a faith superseding the mere rules. The breakup of the Islamic Empires, led to the diminishing role of both Qadis and Sufis and the rise of Muftis and Imams as demagogues with larger appeal. Individual leaders outside of any central establishment have begun to have an important role in defining what Islam looks like. This increasing diversification of Islam has been labelled by some as the "Islamic Reformation".

Immigration and Evangelization: One of the greatest shifts in Islam has been its incorporation into traditionally non-Muslim societies, such as Western countries, Far Eastern countries, and Latin America. Horrible economic conditions and persecution in the Islamic World have led numerous Muslims to leave their homelands and come to these other areas, creating new centers of evangelization and community for Muslims. Prior to the modern period, most non-Muslim countries forbid the Immigration of Muslims due to religious discrimination, but the increasing understanding of common humanity has led to rescinding of these views.

Human Rights: One of the biggest changes for Muslims in the modern era is the concept of Human Rights. Islamic Empires were ruled like most Medieval States, on a system of Privileges. The sovereign chose whether you could speak your mind or not, where you could live, what clothes you could wear, etc. There was nothing intrinsic about a person that guaranteed him these privileges. The modern concept of such an intrinsic value came from the West and was quickly incorporated into Islam. This has allowed women's rights to increase and minority rights to increase throughout the Islamic World. Additionally, there has been a lessening of persecution of different forms or minorities of Muslims in Muslim-majority countries. Unfortunately, many Islamic States still have much further to go both as concerns women and minorities, but the dialogue has fundamentally shifted from arguing for "privileges to do x" to arguing that "their rights are denied them" and this changes the power dynamic in the argument.