[Islam-Online- Islamic]

An objection that is often raised to such a thesis cites the nonmonolithic nature of Western societies as evidence. The United States, in particular, has one of the highest rates of church attendance, and the "moral majority" is alive and well. While it is true that there are practicing Christians in the West, one can question the intention and the purpose of a dialogue among those who, esentially, are in agreement and share a common set of moral principles. One motive for such a dialogue is to arrive at a theological middle ground. In fact, the theological differences between Christianity and Islam are insoluble, and any attempt to bridge the gap becomes an attempt at conversion. The other motive for a dialogue with the Christian West would be for its utility, namely, world peace. Such noble concepts as peace and tranquillity are sufficiently meritorious in themselves that one can, and should, do everything possible to actualize them. If, however, the understanding of one another and world peace is facilitated by an understanding of one another's faith, then such a dialogue is prudent and should be pursued.
The real dialogue, however, which is essential if Muslims are to function in the contemporary world, is with modernity and the culture it has engendered. By and large, Christianity has embraced modernity and, to a great extent, has adopted its dictums, whereas Islam remains defiant with respect to modernity and refuses to accept it. This defiance of modernity should not be mistaken with the rejection of technology; it is a rejections of the culture that comes with modernity.
A dialogue between Islam and the modern world is indeed a short one. Part of this brevity has to do with Islam's rejection of modernity as evil and decadent. The fact that Islam has a strong legal side and that the Shari'ah defines the permissibility and the limits of human activity leaves no room for a gray area in which a dialogue can occur. To elaborate further on the nature of a dialogue between traditional Islam and the modern world, let us consider a hypothetical conversation between a traditional Muslim (M) and a secular Westerner (W):
W: What do you think about the West?
M: The West is morally corrupt, decadent, and the culture of "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" that it advocates is demonic.
W: What do you think about democracy?
M: Democracy, in the sense of allowing individuals to be free so they can be decadent, is not allowed in Islam.
W: What about the inalienable right of individuals, such as the right to choose one's lifestyle, how to dress, and so on?
M: God, through the Shari'ah, has determined the limits of such rights. In Islam, all rights belong to God.
W: Are boys and girls allowed to mingle?
M: No, the shari'ah does not allow this.
W: Are homosexuals allowed to adhere to their sexual orientation?
M: No, according to the Shari'ah they should be put to death.
C: What are your views on media and what they broadcast?
M: The media should only broadcast what is consistent with the Shariah.
End of discussion between traditional Islam and the modern West!
For a Muslim, the Shari'ah has determined right from wrong and true from false. Therefore, there is no room for a discourse with a world that thrives on change, holds the view that "anything goes," and argues for relativity in various domains, especially as regards ethics and epistemology. Islam and the modern West neither share a common worldview nor adhere to the same norms; therefore, the possibility of a meaningful dialogue between them does not exist. This presents us with a complex situation that is of the utmost significance if Muslims, in general, and those living in the West are to survive and not live marginally on the fringes of society.
The absence of a common language through which Muslims can understand and be understood by the West has manifested itself in the rise of two different groups of Muslims. There are those who, because of the existing problems, reject "the West" entirely and, as a reaction to it, stand at opposite pole. These "born-again Muslims," to borrow a term from Christianity (whom the media calls "fundamentalists"), are an alien and new concept in Islam. The moral chaos in the West so frightens them that they consider the Shari'ah to be the absolute and perennial law of Islam. From this comes a total rejection of modernity, which replaces "truth" with "truths" and produces hostility to the West as a civilization within which modernity harbors and prospers.
The second group of Muslims are those who become conformists and integrate fully into the mainstream Western lifestyle. This group is convinced that religion is a thing of the past, is inconsistent with reason and rationality, and is a cause for embarrassment among the more educated and academically oriented people. Certainly, mainline academics view persons with truly religious convictions as a species whose survival defies evolution! This group of Muslims embraces the West and the culture of modernity with open arms, as a substitute for religious despotism, and considers Promethean freedom to be possible only in the death of the sacred.
Neither the first nor the second group is interested in a dialogue with the West. The central question for Muslims in the beginning of the third millennium is how should a third group, one that is interested in preserving its religious heritage and yet remaining part of modern society, live? What should the intellectual foundations of this group be? What is to be tolerated, and how can the Shari'ah be reinterpreted to make it possible for the emergence of Muslims who can function in a modern setting? To this end, jurists (fuqaha') bear most of the responsibility, for their extensive use and reliance upon ijtihad can provide the tools with which Muslims can cope and come to terms with modernity. The search for a niche within which Muslims can take refuge and stay unaffected by the modern world has failed. As those who have tried to create various versions of an Islamic state have found out, modernity is not a passive phenomenon; on the contrary, it is aggressive and challenges traditional values.
A middle ground must be found, one where Muslims, in general, and Muslims living in the West, in particular, can remain within the pale of Islam and come to terms with modernity. Otherwise, we will suffer the same fate as our medieval ancestors did in Andalusia-conversion or expulsion. This time, however, we are not asked to convert to Christianity but to modernity and secularism, and there is nowhere to be expelled to where modernity does not exist.