ABSTRACT
Studies on Islam and modernity h ave grappled with what has happened to Islam in the modern world. As a tradition, culture, or religion, what has become of Islam since the transformation of the globe through industrialisation, capitalism, and colonialism? Has Islam taken on a new form, or does it continue earlier forms and traditions in essential ways? What are the values promoted by Islam and Muslims in the modern world? Most recent studies on these questions find the focus on Islam and modernity too broad and generalised. Preferring local and contextual studies, Islam in modernity in its most general sense has been moved to the background, or into the public sphere. However, terms referring to the broader interaction between Islam and modernity have not been given up. Terms such as “Islamic modernity,” “Islamic modernism,” “modernist Islam,” or simply “modern Islam” have not disappeared completely. To these may be added the plural forms of Islams and modernities, producing a bewildering variety of representations. They still appear repeatedly in the literature, begging for clarification or filling an un-fillable space.
