Islam and politics and the arab spring

just had a revelation curtosy of my great philosophy professor.  the problem with the muslim world is that modernity was imposed upon it.  it was imported during nearly two centuries of colonialism.  in the west, they created modernity, it came from their leadership and the great thinkers following the 14th century that created a new europe.  it was their own doing, it wasnt impose, it wasnt copied from someone else.  their political and ideological dilemma created during that time this need to integrate christianity into the context of modernity.

now, possibly the arab spring has made this opportunity in the muslim world.  he we have parties of old traditional thinkers being forced to confront modernity and the modern nation-state.  the muslim brotherhood, to be honest, does not have a realistic modern political platform.  their ideals are based a romantic nostaligia for the past. nostalgia for the muslim golden ages, it isnt rooted in modernity.  now that they are in power, they will be forced to create a new interpretation that works with modernity, they will be forced to adapt.  they will create it on their own and the west is not imposing it.  the problem with the past is that modernity was imposed or copied from the past.  it doesnt work that way, it needs to be organic.

isnt interesting that traditionalists in islam have grown MORE stringent over the years, from hanbal, to tayymiyah, to wahhab. as apposed to becoming more progressive or fit to the times.  christian fundamentalism has its nut jobs, but their philosophy isnt on the scale seen in the muslim world.

ill try to remember more from our talk....