ABSTRACT
The chapter begins by presenting a brief account of the typical problems faced by Muslims in modern times. Following a short explanation of the types of responses developed by Muslims in their attempt to meet the challenges introduced to Muslim societies as a result of their encounter with ‘modernity’ since the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, some of the main aspects and tenets of critical rationalism, which is the guiding theoretical framework of the book, are explained. Since critical rationalism relies on the meta-method of situational analysis in dealing with issues related to the general sphere of ‘human condition’, major elements of this method are introduced in the third section of the first chapter. In section four similarities and differences between two important human constructs, namely science and technology are discussed. Many of the arguments which are developed in various chapters of the book make use of fine distinctions between two constructs. The last section of the Introduction deals with summary accounts of various chapters of the book.
