Gibb frames Islam’s problem as a gulf between doctrine and modern intellect

Evidence

Islam is a living and vital religion, appealing to the hearts, minds, and consciences of tens and hundreds of millions, setting them a standard by which to live honest, sober, and god-fearing lives. It is not Islam that is petrified, but its orthodox formulations, its systematic theology, its social apologetic. It is here that the dislocation lies, that the dissatisfaction is felt among a large proportion of its most educated and intelligent adherents, and that the danger for the future is most evident. No religion can ultimately resist disintegration if there is a perpetual gulf between its demands upon the will and its appeal to the intellect of its followers. That for the vast majority of Muslims the problem of dislocation has not yet arisen justifies the ulema in refusing to be rushed into the hasty measures which the modernists prescribe; but the spread of modernism is a warning that re-formulation cannot be indefinitely shelved. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 718

Categorization

• QUESTION: This is Gibb’s own framing quoted by Said — worth tracking how Said deploys the Orientalist’s own words as evidence of the discourse’s assumptions.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 718