In chapter 52 of The Globalization Reader, Kurzman tells us “Islamist political platforms share significant planks with Western modernity.” (p.393) Many of the Islamic states are against the monarchies of traditional Islam and societies like the Saudi dynasty in Arabia even favor egalitarian meritocracy. Many of the practices of this new age in Islam try to reinvent the ideas surrounding traditional Islamists and impose a contemporary twist. Islamist such as Bin Laden, although a radical Islamist, has “combined traditional grievances such as injustice, corruption, oppression, and self-defense with contemporary demands such as economic development, human rights and national self-determination.” (p.393) Islamic states such as the Islamic Republic of Iran have tried to open itself up the global norms present in many of today’s society.
Although there were not many changes associated with these new global norms, I’d argue that many of the modern global norms are influenced directly or indirectly by Western Modernity. As Islamic states partake in these new norms they are being shaped by Western modernity. Also, many of the Islamist leaders that are the original influences of change have been inculcated with an education based in western ideologies. For example, important leaders such as “Hasan Turabi of the Sudan is a lawyer who was trained in Khartoum, London and Paris; Necmettin Erbakan of Turkey studied mechanical engineering in West Germany.” (p.392) No matter where you look it is impossible to not find the influence of western modernity within the Islamic shift towards modernity.
