Contemporary challenges to to Islam

INTRODUCTION

In order to understand the seeds and sources of various Islamic Movements which surfaced in the twentieth century, it is imperative to comprehend the relationship of Islam with the socio-political and economic establishments. To generalize the statement, the

things follow that from the period of the last and final Messenger of Islam ����aḍrat Mu����ammad (peace be upon him) up to the era of colonialism, Muslims―despite witnessing in-house and out-house commotions and problems―endured a definite and distinctive conduct and persona in their society throughout. The spread of Allah's

message, originating from the land of Arabia, was so rapid that within a very short span of time it brought into its realm major regions of the world spreading to North Africa and Spain in the west and as far as Indonesia in the east.1 Islam amid producing one of the world's greatest civilizations also contributed multifariously, but not limited, to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, medicine, geography, optics, physical sciences, art and architecture.2 Even after the fall of Baghdad, by the onslaught of the Mongols in 1258, the civilization―despite a certain degree of stagnation―developed and flourished3 and the Muslims continued to zest the blessings of being under the patronage of the Muslim establishments: Ottomans in the Middle East, Mughals in the Indian subcontinent, and Safavids in the Persia.

However, at the dawn of the eighteenth century, the Western powers crossed their boundaries in an avaricious and ambitious way to have hegemony over wealth, power, and resources of the Muslim regions by and large. With the emergence of Western formulated colonial and imperial project, the Muslim state of affairs changed altogether amounting to the biggest catastrophe in their entire history and as a result the entire community succumbed to the Western colonial powers―politically, economically, militarily, and technologically.4 Thus, with this began what can be termed as a 'whole sale process of erosion' of the Muslim identity and persona. In the waning years of colonialism and imperialism, Muslim's own and very rich history, culture and civilization, principles and values, standards and prerogatives now certainly were at stake. In the words of Kalim Siddiqi:

3,