ABSTRACT
The Muslim part of the modern world has seen numerous experiments in social change, some more successful than others. The overall balance sheet beginning with anti-colonial struggles, to experiments with nationalism, socialism, liberal capitalism and Islamism reveal mixed outcomes and a chary prognosis. Religious fervor, often utilized as means to mobilize the multitudes, has proven to be as productive as well as destructive. It will be helpful to keep this background in mind when trying to grasp twenty-first century Muslim concerns about social change. What we encounter is the vertiginous intersection of culture, politics, economic power or its absence, with historical memory producing different configurations that coalesce in ethics.
