The Challenge of Modernity

Abstract

The question of modernization in the Arab world remains an inexhaustible subject for debate precisely becau e it has not yet been resolved. This inconclusive outcome continue to put the issue at the heart of concerns in these lands. The Arab world is in turmoil: its political elites are divided and at war with each other, social and economic problems continue to affect and trouble the masses, basic democratic rights are still a dream. In short, things are not at all well. The acute awareness of this problem dates back to the setbacks suffered by the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth century. Intellectuals have since been trying to diagnose and offer solutions for the ailment. In trying to contribute to the debate, Safi thus joins an illustriou line of "doctors" from Khayr al D"tn al TOnis1 through al Afgha.n1 and down to Malik Bennabi and ijassan I:Ianafi, to mention but a few of the valiant souls who attempted to rise up to the challenge. Safi's approach departs from the right point. He tries to synthesize western and Arab views on the modernization and to keep his discussion as "scientific" as possible. But he makes no secret of his "ideological" commitment, based on a conception of modernization as a "rationalization process, i.e., an emancipatory project, aiming at eliminating the ...