Knowledge Systems and Islamic Discourses

Abstract

This article reviews the elements of social production of scientific knowledge in the Islamic world in the context of the political discourse of modernity. Elements such as institutional building, educational programs, and the development of the modern secular state underwent changes during the 20th century. I discuss the effect of the Muslim encounter with the political discourse of modernity upon these elements. I argue that the development of technoscientific enterprise in the Islamic world has been communicative and dialogical in relation to the West, in part, through the process of cultural translation. I discuss how ‘keywords’ such as sahwa(awakening) and asala (authenticity) have played deconstructive roles in the Muslim encounter with modernity in Iran and Malaysia.