Doha, Qatar: The Department of Islamic Research and Studies, within the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, has published its 208th ‘Ktab Al Umma’ book series. Titled “Why Did Muslims Decline While Others Advanced? From the Question of the Age to the Answer of Thought,” the book is authored by Professor Ahmed Hamed Qashta.
The book presents a significant intellectual and cultural study that seeks to identify the true reasons behind the civilizational stagnation dominating the Muslim world and the factors that have led, and continue to lead, to the advancement of others. It thus contributes to the ongoing efforts to answer the question of our time: “Why did Muslims decline while others advanced?” Sheikh Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al Thani, Director of the Department of Islamic Research and Studies, emphasised the particular importance of the book. He stated that it offers a serious intellectual attempt to examine the views of ten prominent thinkers, leading figures and symbols of the moderate reform movement.
These scholars explored and provided valuable insights into an issue that has troubled cultural and academic circles for decades, offering important answers to the question of the age from various perspectives.
This is especially relevant given the impact of social and intellectual ailments afflicting individuals within societies, which negatively affects both society and the nation. He noted that the researcher has provided a useful summary of the conclusions reached by these thinkers, hoping they may serve as a balm for the decline of Muslims. Sheikh Ahmed added, “The nation needs a comprehensive rebuilding of its fortresses and a cure for its various ailments, in accordance with the rules of Islamic law and the requirements of the present. It also needs to study the possibilities for revitalizing a generation that adheres to its religion, identity, culture, thought, and tolerant, upright Islamic values.”
The list of the ten thinkers includes: Abdullah Al-Nadim, Muhammad Farid Wajdi, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Kawakibi, Muhammad Al-Tahir Ibn Ashour, Badi’ Al-Zaman Said Al-Nursi, Said Halim Pasha, Muhammad Asad, Shakib Arslan, Abu Al-Hasan Al-Nadwi, and Muhammad Al-Ghazali.
This selection of prominent figures, to the exclusion of others, was based on their adoption of a moderate approach in answering the question, their reliance on the religious constants of the nation, and their belief in the necessity of combining authenticity with modernity as a way to prevent the erosion of the nation’s civilizational identity.
What further enhances the significance of this choice is that the contributions of this reformist elite reflect a remarkable diversity in their intellectual orientations, reformist views, and variations in their perspectives on the most effective ways to overcome the causes of civilizational decline. Therefore, the prioritization of certain factors and reformist approaches over others was a distinguishing feature of their intellectual contributions in answering the question.
Among them, some favoured the political path, such as Abdullah Al-Nadim and Abd Al-Rahman Al-Kawakibi. Others prioritised education and upbringing, such as Muhammad Farid Wajdi, Badi’ Al-Zaman Al-Nursi, and Al-Tahir Ibn Ashour. Some attempted to activate the dormant energies within the nation, as Sheikh Muhammad Al-Ghazali did. Some focused on the necessity of presenting Islam as it is, without subjecting it to attempts at adaptation according to the requirements of Western civilization, as Muhammad Asad argued.
