The Age of Unreason

In 1885, the ever-suspicious and iconoclastic Nietzsche wrote that

"there is an element of decay in everything that characterizes
modern man." This was more than a mere statement of cultural
pessimism. Nietzsche had no confidence in the high-flying promises
of the Enlightenment age and modernity. More than a century
later, the state of the world in which we live presents an even
more confusing picture.

The radical critics of Western modernity raised serious questions

about its self-fulfilling prophecies. In place of the serene world of
reason, rationality, science, technology and claims to democracy
and rule of law, they saw European imperialism and colonialism,
child labor, capitalist exploitation, class struggle and oppression as
the primary leitmotifs of modernity. From Oswald Spengler and
Martin Heidegger to T. S. Eliot and Michel Foucault, scores of
Western intellectuals saw decline and decadence as the guiding
principles of the brave new world. Some have had hope to
overcome this crisis of nihilism. Some never had.This is one of the
enduring paradoxes of Western modernity. On the one hand, you
have an immense self-confidence and hubris to build a new world
based on a Eurocentric worldview.
On the other hand, you have widespread disbelief and deep
mistrust that intellectuals, scholars and artists hold against the
arrogant claims of the modern world. Both realities have shaped
the trajectory of modern history since the 19th century. At the
end, though, Western modernity triumphed, leading to a world of
immense contradictions and parallel histories.Some of these
contradictions are wild and all of them shameful. The world has
never seen so much wealth in history. But we have never seen
such a big gap between the rich and the poor either. Science and
technology have made major strides but failed to replace religious
belief and traditional ethics. Interest in occult literature, mysteries
and fantasies is on the rise in the most secular Western countries.
Religions have been sidelined by the secular and scientific forces of
the modern world. But they are also having a comeback with a new
energy. The individual person was once presented as the most
precious gift of the Enlightenment age. But it is being crushed
under the ever-complex and stressful system of modern life. New
forms of communitarianism are on the rise.

In short, reason and unreason are both present in the modern

world. In contrast to what political opportunists and neocon
pundits claim, this has nothing to do with the stubbornness of
Islam or other religious faiths. Failing to see the internal
contradictions and injustices of the current world system, from
which Muslims suffer as much as others, is not just plain wrong
but also dangerous because it feeds the viciously anti-Islamic and
Islamophobic trends in the West. It justifies and normalizes racism
and xenophobia. It hijacks mainstream politics in Western
countries. In turn, it feeds violent extremist movements in the
Muslim world. All this leads to a path of mutual self-destruction.

Blaming Islam and Muslims for the failure of the project of

modernity cannot be a strategy to overcome its shortcomings.
Pitting modernity as reason against Islam as unreason cannot be a
logical move to understand the complexities of the Islamic and
Western traditions. Comparing and contrasting one's ideals with
other's realities is a self-delusional approach. Construing Islam and
Muslims as a security problem is a turning a blind eye to the
intrinsic malaise of the age in which we live.The same holds true
for Muslims who chose to remain in their comfort zone instead of
confronting their own problems with an open mind. Blaming the
West or modernity for everything that has gone wrong in the
Muslim world is not any different from the Eurocentric Islam-
bashing. Anchoring ourselves in our values is a sine qua non of all
faith traditions. But it cannot be an excuse for lack of critical
thinking and openness to the world. To the contrary, the Quran
urges us to use our reason to make sense of the world and turn it
into an intelligible and virtuous habitat where we stand for truth
and justice.

Reason and unreason will continue to coexist in the world, pushing

each other to the right and left, forcing us to make choices that
are of vital importance. The question is whether we will give a
chance to reason to lead us to the path of virtue, love and
compassion.