The Islamic World’s encounter with Modernity was and is at the same time an encounter with a powerful and expanding West. As Western countries industrialized during the Nineteenth century they also competed for hegemonic influence around the globe in the process spreading a secular theology sometimes referred to as Modernity. This theology, which entails the separation of the religious from the political, challenged the totalizing scope of Islamic doctrine. In rejection of the West, some groups...

Absolutists believe that power has to be centralized in one person for unity to prevail. They learned from the Protestant Reformation that power could not be shared. Men would often use the pretext of religion to try to undermine the throne and establish their own power. If power is divided, a person can break the law and seek recourse in the enemy of his enemy. There can be no law, because if a person breaks the law they can always defect to the other side. The sentiment that shared power creates...