ABSTRACT
The way to Modernity was more open in the West than in any other civilization. In the Islamic civilization of the three empires—the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal—it was almost completely closed largely due to the reaffirmation of fundamentalist orthodoxy. The road to Modernity was open in the West but closed elsewhere. There was nothing inevitable, however, about this development in the West. Further reasons must be adduced as to why the West chose to follow this course rather than an equally possible one, away from Modernity, as happened in all the other civilizations. The Forces of Modernity developed best where they could mutually support each other; the growth of one invariably aided that of the others as well, for as one prospered. Disenchantment and secularism were accompanied by the third of the major socio-cultural shifts that was so pronounced in Modernity—individualism.
