Understanding the problems of Islamic Civilisation in Modern Era

The Issues of decadence and regression of the muslim society have been highly debated throughout
the 20th and 21st century. Many have try to formulate the right recipe for renaissance of the Islamic
Civilisation but failed to do so as when their formulation was applied to revive the muslim society, it
failed along the way. Why did this happen? Does the muslim thinker lack the ideas or lack the
understanding of the root cause of the decadence of the civilisation? Does the decadence and state
of regression of the muslim civilisation will come to an end? How do we revive this civilisation that
seems to be degenerating without any sign of reviving?

The question and issue of decadence must be dig deep in the muslim milieu, in their mind, soul
culture and social network(asabiyyah). Malek Bennabi mentioned in his book Condition Of
Renaissance that the failure of muslim thinkers to initiate renaissance can be seen at three levels, the
level of inability to determining the precise goals of renaissance, the level of limiting the social
problems and the level of inability determining the method as well as the means of renaissance.
Furthermore, many muslim thinkers tend to over simplified the overall crisis of the muslim
civilisation hence deducing fruitless solution to the decadence of the civilisation crisis for example of
the modernist, Al-Afghani who doesn’t really bring about concrete transformation of the muslim
mind rather it propose of a reformation of the political institution.

Some also propose solution to our issue but it didn’t solve the civilisational crisis of the muslim
world, as the ideas are more inclined towards self-defence and attacking the colonisation without
proper and profound understanding of the disease that infected the muslim world, changing the
method rather than curing the disease thus did not really solve the issue. If we reflected on what had
impact the European Civilisation nowdays, we will realise that when we try to incorporate alien
civilisation into our civilisation it will brought a huge catastrophe as the European now have to
endure the floodgates of culture and civilisation that shook the European Civilisation altogether.