Navigating Challenges of Islamic Civilization in the Era of Global Modernity

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v10i1.7

Keywords:

Islamic Civilization, Global Modernity, Epistemic Hegemony, Islamic Reformism, Dzikr and Fikr

Abstract

This article analyzes the dynamics and challenges faced by Islamic civilization amid the dominance of Western modernity, which has now transformed into neoliberal globalization, digital capitalism, and epistemic hegemony. The study explores how Islamic civilization can reformulate its strategic role in constructing a modern Muslim society that is not only technologically advanced but also spiritually and ethically grounded. Employing a qualitative library-based method with a descriptive-analytical approach and a civilizational analytical framework, this research examines classical and contemporary literature on civilizational theory, modernization, the coloniality of knowledge, and Islamic reformism. The findings indicate that Western modernity does not merely generate scientific and institutional progress; it also promotes a secular-materialistic paradigm that tends to marginalize the dimension of transcendence from the public sphere. In this context, the crisis experienced by Muslim societies is not a theological crisis, but rather an epistemic one crisis and a crisis of civilizational confidence. Historically, Islamic civilization was built upon the integration of dzikr (spiritual consciousness) and fikr (intellectual rationality) as two fundamental pillars of societal advancement. Therefore, the revitalization of Islamic civilization in the global era requires the reconstruction of epistemology, educational reform, and the strengthening of a civilizational identity that engages modernity in a selective and critical manner.

References

Abattouy, Mohammed. ‘The Arabic-Latin Intercultural Transmission of Scientific Knowledge in Pre-Modern Europe: Historical Context and Case Studies’. In The Role of the Arab-Islamic World in the Rise of the West: Implications for Contemporary Trans-Cultural Relations, edited by Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230393219_8.

Abduh, Muhammad. Risālāt Al-Tawhīd. Al-Matba’ah al-Amiriyah, 1905.

Abdullah, Abdulrahman, and Al- Ma. ‘Process of Decolonization in Nabulyun Fi Al-Azhar’. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies 14, no. June (2014): 123–34. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2014-1402-09.

Abdullah, M. Amin. ‘Religion, Science, and Culture: An Integrated, Interconnected Paradigm of Science’. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 52, no. 1 (2015): 175. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2014.521.175-203.

Adamson, Peter. ‘Al-Kindi, Abu Yusuf Ya’qub Ibn Ishaq’. In Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy: Philosophy between 500 and 1500, edited by Henrik Lagerlund. Springer Netherlands, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1665-7_289.

Agustono, Ihwan, Harda Armayanto, and Naura Safira Salsabila Zain. ‘Reviving Islamic Civilization in the Late Period of Abbasid: A Historical Analysis of the Madrasa al-Mustanṣiriyya’. Tasfiyah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 8, no. 2 (2024): 179–202. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v8i2.11669.

Ahmad, Khalil, and Fareed Malik. ‘Hijrah and Its Application in Classical and Contemporary Muslim Contexts’. Hamdard Islamicus 45, no. 4 (2022): 97–117. https://doi.org/10.57144/hi.v45i4.640.

Ahmeti, Samir, and Gazmend Rizaj. ‘European Impact on Egyptian Industrialization during the Rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805-1848)’. Journal of European Economic History, no. 2 (2024): 9–41. https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/311387.

Akmal, Andi Muhammad. ‘Studying Fiqh Based on the Quran and Hadith in the Modern Era by Revisiting the Methodology of Legal Istinbat’. Nuris Journal of Education and Islamic Studies 5, no. 2 (2025): 151–67. https://doi.org/10.52620/jeis.v5i2.119.

Al Faruqi, Achmad Reza Hutama. ‘Pemikiran Badiuzzaman Said Nursi tentang Kontribusi Sains terhadap Peradaban Islam’. Dissertation, UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah, Tulungagung, 2025. http://repo.uinsatu.ac.id/61994/.

Ali, Jan. ‘A Pursuit of Human Wellbeing: An Islamic Perspective’. In Wellbeing in Islamic Schools: Nurturing the Mind, Body and Soul. Springer Nature, 2025.

Ali, Md Yousuf, and Osman Bakar. ‘Syed Ahmad Khan’s Twin Objectives Of Educational Reforms In British India: Muslim Advancement And Hindu-Muslim Unity’. Al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) 26, no. 1 (2021): 49–70.

Ali, Mohamad, Fadhlina Alias, Hendun Abd, et al. ‘The Conceptual Nexus between Islamic Foresight, Islamic Thought and the Shariah’. Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law 12, no. 1 (2024): 62–76. https://doi.org/10.33102/mjsl.vol12no1.524.

Al-Qarrahdāghī, alī Muḥi Al-Dīn. ‘Islamic Jurisprudential Solutions and Renewal in Addressing the Challenges and Effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the Light of Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah: Methodology and Explanation’. Jurnal Fiqh 18, no. 1 (2021): 1–66. https://doi.org/10.22452/fiqh.vol18no1.1.

Alwedyan, Safaa. ‘Urbanization And Its Effect on Jordanian Cities: A Case Study of Irbid, Jordan’. Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies 65, no. 1 (2023): 129–56. https://www.njess.org/journal/njess/articles?id=94.

Amin Abdullah, M. ‘Religion, Science and Culture: An Integrated, Interconnected Paradigm of Science’. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 52, no. 1 (2014): 175–203. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2014.521.175-203.

Amri, Laroussi. ‘The Concept of ‘Umran: The Heuristic Knot in Ibn Khaldun’. The Journal of North African Studies 13, no. 3 (2008): 351–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629380701844672.

Atif, Muhammad, Aslam Rao, Mohd Roslan, et al. ‘Behavioural Revival of the Arabs through Psychological Method of “Shaping”: A Discourse Analysis’. Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.112.14.

Bai, Xuemei, Timon McPhearson, Helen Cleugh, Harini Nagendra, and Xin Tong. ‘Linking Urbanization and the Environment: Conceptual and Empirical Advances’. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 42 (2017): 215–40. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-102016-061128.

Bei, Jin. ‘New Industrialization and New Model for Human Civilization’. China Economist 2 (2024): 42–53. https://doi.org/10.19602/j.chinaeconomist.2024.03.02.

Bellah, Robert N. Religion and Progress in Modern Asia. The Free Press, 1965.

Benlahcene, Badrane. ‘The Presence of Ibn Khaldun and Toynbee’s Ideas in Malek Bennabi’s Interpretation of the Cyclical Movement of Civilizations’. Afkar 23, no. 2 (2022): 445–88. https://doi.org/10.22452/afkar.vol23no2.12.

Bussemakers, Carlijn, Kars van Oosterhout, Gerbert Kraaykamp, and Niels Spierings. ‘Women’s Worldwide Education–Employment Connection: A Multilevel Analysis of the Moderating Impact of Economic, Political, and Cultural Contexts’. World Development 99 (2017): 28–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.07.002.

Carballo, Marita, Esteban López-Escobar, and Maxwell McCombs. ‘Communication, Public Opinion, and Democracy: New Challenges’. Communication and Society 31, no. 4 (2018): 121–34. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.31.4.121-134.

Chande, Abdin. ‘Global Politics of Knowledge Production: The Challenges of Islamization of Knowledge in The Light of Tradition Vs Secular Modernity Debate’. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam 6, no. 2 (2023): 271–89. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v6i2.3502%20Global.

Dey, Tapas, and Srinivas Goli. ‘Examining the Role of Modernization and Urbanization in Family Changes in India: Evidence from Panel Data Analyses’. Journal of Family History 51, no. 1 (2026): 20–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/03631990251376548.

El-Hibri, Tayeb. The Abbasid Caliphate: A History. Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Elsayed, Walaa. ‘Breaking the Cycle of Child Labor in Egypt: Exploring Social and Economic Factors Associated with Child Labor in Egypt for a Sustainable Future’. Sustainable Futures 8, no. June (2024): 100235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100235.

Faruque, Muhammad U. ‘Decolonizing the Muslim Mind: A Philosophical Critique’. Philosophical Forum 55, no. 4 (2024): 353–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/phil.12378.

Ganić, Senad. ‘The Crisis of Pluralism in the Context of the Weakening of Universal Law’. Sociologija 66, no. 1 (2024): 126–46. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC2401126G.

Gerling, Heather M., William Ash-Houchen, and Celia C. Lo. ‘Fractured Modernization: Cultural and Structural Predictors of Attitudes on Gender Equality’. International Review of Sociology 29, no. 2 (2019): 260–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2019.1614294.

Gordon, H. Scott. The Modern World: Progress and Change. Routledge, 2000.

Guliyev, Ahmad. ‘“A Brother’s Portion”: Regifted and Requested Items in Safavid-Mughal Diplomatic Gift Exchanges’. Acta Orientalia 77, no. 3 (2024): 515–34. https://doi.org/10.1556/062.2024.00425.

Haracic, Nedim, and M. Y. Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff. ‘The Reasons of Social Change and the Role of Mentoring Therein; Its Methods and Contexts from a Qur’anic Perspective’. AlBayan 14, no. 1 (2016): 89–118. https://doi.org/10.1163/22321969-12340033.

Hitti, Philip K. History of The Arabs. Macmilton Press, 1974.

Hj, Asyraf, Ab Rahman, Wan Ibrahim, et al. ‘The Consequences of Ataturk’s Secularization on Turkey’. Asian Social Science; 11, no. 21 (2025): 350–54. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n21p350.

Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Jalali, Carlos, Patrícia Silva, and Edna Costa. ‘They (Don’t) Really Care about Us: Youth Representation in Portuguese Political Parties’. European Political Science 24, no. 4 (2025): 862–77. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-025-00548-2.

Judd, Steven C. ‘Umayyad Caliphate’. In The Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe178.

Jung, Dietrich, and Ahmed El Zalaf. ‘Hasan Al-Banna and the Modern Muslim Self: Subjectivity Formation and the Search for an Islamic Order in Early 20th-Century Egypt’. Numen 66, no. 4 (2019): 381–402. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685276-12341545.

Khaldun, Ibn. Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Princeton University Press, 1967.

Khan, Shadab Ali. ‘Beyond Reason: Iqbal’s Interplay Between Intellect and Love in the Search for Truth’. Kanz Philosophia: A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism 11, no. 2 (2025): 361–82. https://doi.org/10.20871/kpjipm.v11i2.424.

Khozin, and Umiarso. ‘The Philosophy and Methodology of Islam-Science Integration: Unravelling the Transformation of Indonesian Islamic Higher Institutions’. Ulumuna: Journal of Islamic Studies 23, no. 1 (2019): 135–62. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v23i1.359.

Kumar, Krishan. ‘The Return of Civilization — and of Arnold Toynbee?’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 56, no. 4 (2014): 815–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417514000413.

Lamb, David. Cairo: City of Paradox. HarperCollins, 2002.

Lerner, D. The Passing of Traditional Society: Modernizing the Middle East. Free Press, 1958.

Liu, Ran, and Yuhang Jia. ‘Resilience and Circularity: Revisiting the Role of Urban Village in Rural-Urban Migration in Beijing, China’. Land 10, no. 12 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/land10121284.

Macca, A. A., and Tutin Aryanti. ‘The Domes: El Wakil’s Traditionalist Architecture of Quba Mosque’. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Bandung), 2017, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/755/1/011001.

Madjid, Nurcholish. Islam, Doktrin Dan Peradaban. Paramadina, 2000.

Mahdavi, Mojtaba. ‘Muslims and Modernities: From Islamism to Post-Islamism?’ Religious Studies and Theology 32, no. 1 (2013): 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v32i1.57.

Malik, Hasan Yaser. ‘The Role of Majority Muslim Littoral States to Establish a Prosperous and Stable Indian Ocean’. Legal Transformation in Muslim Societies 1, no. 1 (2024): 92–108.

Martín, Marina Santana. ‘La Renovación Religiosa y El Panislamismo En Al-‘Urwa al-Wuṯqā: Una Herramienta de Resistencia Ideológica y Política Frente a La Ocupación Extranjera’. Anaquel de Estudios Arabes 36, no. 2 (2025): 199–210. https://doi.org/10.5209/anqe.99784.

Mohiuddin, Asif. ‘Islamic Revival in South Asia’. In Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives, edited by Ronald Lukens-Bull and Mark Woodward. Springer International Publishing, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32626-5_102.

Musyafa, Nur Lailatul, and Hammis Syafaq. Pemikiran Khalid Muhammad Khalid Tentang Konsep Negara Dalam Islam. Pustaka Press Indonesia, 2026.

Nurullah, Abu Sadat. ‘Globalisation as a Challenge to Islamic Cultural Identity’. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 3, no. 6 (2008): 45–52. https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1882/cgp/v03i06/52625.

O’Clery, Neave, Samuel Heroy, François Hulot, and Mariano Beguerisse-Díaz. ‘Unravelling the Forces Underlying Urban Industrial Agglomeration’. In Handbook of Cities and Networks. University of Oxford, 2021.

Potočnik, Dragan, and Primož Šterbenc. ‘Islam as the Nationalist Instrument of Resistance to Perceived Domination of the West’. Unity and Dialogue 78, no. 2 (2023): 369–82. https://doi.org/10.34291/Edinost/78/02/Potocnik.

Qutb, Sayyid. Ma’ālim fī al-Ṭarīq. Dar al-Ilm li al-Malayin, 1980.

R., Sukanya, and Veerta Tantia. ‘Urbanization and The Impact on Economic Development’. In New Perspectives and Possibilities in Strategic Management in the 21st Century: Between Tradition and Modernity. IGI Global, 2023. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9261-1.ch019.

Rabinerson, David, and Eran Horowitz. ‘The Evolution of Midwifery’. Harefuah 146, no. 5 (2007): 380–84. PMID: 17674557.

Ramadan, Ossama Sayed, and Çiğdem Akman. ‘The Structure of Local Governments in Egypt Historical and Contemporary Perspectives’. In Structure, Autonomy, and Policy Impacts of Local Public Administrations. IGI Global, 2025. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-5576-4.ch001.

Ramli, Mohd Anuar, Ahmad Badri Abdullah, Muhammad Ikhlas Rosele, et al. ‘Gender Analysis in Contemporary Islamic Discourse’. Asian Social Science 9, no. 7 (2013): 62–74. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n7p62.

Rida, Rasyid. Al-Manar: Selected Essays on Islam and Modernity. Dar al-Manar, 2000.

Romli, Lili, Firman Noor, Mouliza Kristhopher, et al. ‘Azyumardi Azra on Islamic Fundamentalism and Wasathiyah: Insights into Contemporary Islamic Thought in Indonesia’. Cogent Arts & Humanities 12, no. 1 (2025): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2571754.

Rusydi, Muhammad. Modernity and Islam: Negotiating Cultural and Epistemic Encounters. Prenada Media, 2015.

Salavati, Abdullah, Ali Qanavati, and Abdulwasi Olawale. ‘Ontological Transformations of Human Existence in Virtual Space: An Islamic Ethical and Spiritual Perspective on Divine Presence, Intentionality, and Moral Accountability’. Legal Transformation in Muslim Societies 2, no. 2 (2025): 54–69.

Sampe, Stefanus. ‘Why Political Parties Don’t and Do Matter in Local Government Elections in Indonesia: A Manado Case’. Revista de Sociologia e Política 29, no. 77 (2021): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-987321297703.

Schniedewind, William M. ‘Writing and Book Production in the Ancient Near East’. In The New Cambridge History of the Bible: From the Beginnings to 600. Cambridge University Press, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139033671.006.

Schumacher, Patrik. ‘The Power of Architecture: Transhistorical Dimensions and Contemporary Parameters’. In The Power of Design and Convergence of AI. CRC Press, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003491781-10.

Silvano, Giovanni. ‘A Brief History of Western Medicine’. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences 8 (2021): S10–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcms.2020.06.002.

Sivkov, Ivan V. ‘The Western Constitutional Principles of XIX Century in the Eyes of Arab Scholar and Traveler, Rifa‘a Rafi‘ Al-Ṭahṭawi, Based on “Taḫliṣ al-Ibriz Fi Talḫiṣ Bariz Aw al-Diwan al-Nafis Bi-Īwan Baris"’. RomanoArabica 18 (2018): 185–96.

Syafaq, Hammis. Al-Haḍārah al-Islāmiyah al-Gontoriyah. La Tansa, 1999.

Syafaq, Hammis, Masdar Hilmy, Nur Lailatul Musyafaah, and Mohammed Ramadhan Abraheem Alshaykh Ali. ‘Reconstructing Islamic Epistemology: Bridging Metaphysics, Reason, and Revelation’. Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf Dan Pemikiran Islam 14, no. 2 (2024): 240–69. https://doi.org/10.15642/teosofi.2024.14.2.240-269.

Syafaq, Hammis, Nur Lailatul, Ahmad Hasan, and Al Banna. ‘“Santri without Pesantren” and the Sectarian Violence on Indonesian Muslim Social Media’. Cogent Arts & Humanities 13, no. 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2612046.

Tignor, Robert L. Egypt: A Short History. Princeton University Press, 2011.

Wang, F. ‘Research on the Construction of Small Towns and Regional Economic Development in Shaanxi From the Perspective of Spiritual and Emotional Anxiety of Urban Residents’. Psychiatria Danubina 34, no. 2 (2022): S555–56.

Werfhorst, Herman G. Van De. Is Meritocracy Not So Bad After All ? Educational Expansion and Intergenerational Mobility in 40 Countries. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224241292352.

Yaycioglu, Ali. ‘Global Transformations in the “Muslim World”’. In The Wiley Blackwell History of Islam. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118527719.ch21.

Zamri, N. F., M. Z. Mohamad@Mat, R. Embong, B. Zainal, N. Omar, and I. A. Ibrahim. ‘Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and His Excellence in Modern Science in the Post- Caliphate Era’. Global Journal Al-Thaqafah December, no. I (2024): 241–53. https://doi.org/10.7187/GJATSI122024-16.

Zaqzuq, Mahmud Ḥamdi. Islamic Philosophy and Civilization. Al-Azhar University Press, 2005.

Zhang, Chenghua. ‘Reconsidering the Relationship among Literature, Art and Reality in Light of Marxist Art Production’. Foreign Literature Studies 43, no. 4 (2021): 51–61.

Downloads

Submitted

2026-03-16

Accepted

2026-04-20

Published

2026-04-30

How to Cite

Syafaq, Hammis, Suqiyah Musafa'ah, Nur Lailatul Musyafaah, Marli Candra, and Andina Najma Shavia. 2026. “Navigating Challenges of Islamic Civilization in the Era of Global Modernity”. Tasfiyah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 10 (1):39-75. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v10i1.7.