Islamic religious leaders accepted modernization while challenging state power

Evidence

Asad engages with the phenomenon of religious (Islamic) criticism of the state within the Middle East and rejects the thesis which suggests that the “ulema [religious leaders], being traditional, reject any change in the status quo, because refusal to change is the essence of tradition” (Asad, 1993:209). As Asad goes on to note, the ulema did not mobilize when a variety of fundamental changes were introduced - “new forms of transport, new modes of building and printing, electricity, new medicines and types of medical treatment” (Asad, 1993:210). — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3519

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies what ‘the ulema’ are and counters the stereotype that tradition necessarily means resistance to all change.
• XREF: Connects to the ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ article’s theme that moral-traditionalist opposition is selective and politically strategic rather than blanket anti-modernity.
• SHARE: Good for someone studying Islamic modernism or political Islam — the evidence that the ulema accepted railways, printing, and electricity while opposing the state defies the popular reduction.