A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World

Author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Title: A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World
Publisher: Kazi
Released: 1994

Picking up a new book (in the sense of not having read before) by Professor Nasr is an experience to be relished, but at the same time one for which you need to brace yourself. Nasr tackles God, Philosophy, Civilisation and the crisis of modern man... not exactly holiday reading. His books invariably present the reader with a 'tour de force' of traditional Islamic knowledge as well as an almost frightening breadth of learning spanning the fields of Philosophy, Science, History, the Arts, Education, Politics, Economics and of course Religion.

Above all else, perhaps, Professor Nasr's genius lies in his ability to weave together relevant information from seemingly disparate fields to create an organic synthesis simultaneously in accordance with the teachings of Islam and scholastically rigorous enough to present a formidable challenge to the most critical mind. One must also take into consideration his intellectual pedigree, second to none in both the traditional world of Islam, and modern Western learning, presented through his eloquent command of the English language which renders his writing such a joy, albeit challengly so, to read.

The book in question is perhaps the ideal entrance for a Muslim reader into the thought of Nasr. It's aim is to at once reaffirm the many aspects of the Islamic 'message' (the first seven chapters) before venturing into a fairly deep, although understandably brief considering the amount of ground covered, analysis of the modern Western world (the next seven chapters) in chapters dealing with Modern Western Philosophy, Science and Technology and so forth. The fifteenth and final chapter takes the form of an epilogue restating the need for young Muslims to both learn their own tradition deeply and also to learn about the Modern World seriously in order to be able to responds Islamically to the multitude of challenges it poses a follower of tradition. Indeed, Nasr asserts that while the West has produced numerous scholars who study Islam and the Islamic World from their point of view, the Islamic world has produced very few scholars able to study the various aspects of the West (in any depth at least) from the Islamic perspective.

So there we have the basic outline of the work, one which is both ambitious and greatly needed at this critical juncture in history. Professor Nasr is by no means the first Islamic scholar to address the spiritual welfare of the youth as it is confronted with modernity, however he is certainly the one author whose masterful treatment this issue has needed the most. As he notes, most Islamic critiques of the Modern West are shallow, ill-informed and reactionary, unable to stand up to much serious examination. Nasr characteristically avoids such emotional, simplistic generalisations and presents the reader with the learned, scholastic treatment we have come to expect.

The volume touches on so many themes that it is difficult to summarise, leaving one to conclude with a strong recommendation in favour of tracking this classic down and partaking in its blessings, barakah, for yourself. You may also find yourslef turning the final page with a sense of faith and belonging, having rediscovered your prestigious tradition, a sense of sobriety having learnt something of the nature of the problems of modernity but above all a sense of illumination and purpose based upon the Eternal Reality of Divinity. Nasr concludes aptly with a well-known quote from the Noble Quran: "When the Truth comes, falsehood shall fade away."

Note: The copy in question is published by Kazi (1994) and while it is adequate, the reader is strongly qdvised to seek out the edition published by the ITS - The Islamic Texts Society, whose books are always of the highest quality and typographical excellence, the Kazi edition being of lacklustre design, especially with regard to the typeface used for the chapter headings..

O, 22nd September 2005