Islamization as a Force of Global Cultural Renewal or

Abstract

Islamization constitutes a major force of renovation upon the contemporaryworld scene. A little over a decade ago, the mid-seventies witnessed aheightened awareness of Islamic cultural identity among the Ummahworldwide, an awareness which was projected in the space of activities andevents which marked the fourteenth centennial of the Islamic Hijri calendar.One of the more auspicious developments on this occasion was an emergingtrend that is distinctly novel among Muslims, namely, a growing appreciationfor the importance of coordination and organization reflected in quests forinstitutionalization. The Muslims of the modern world, it seems, had at lastcome of age as they sought to transform the festivities of the day into a moreenduring and effective enterprise. Islamization is a concrete expression ofthese concerns. It was born as a wide-ranging cultural movement whichessentially sought to recover the vitality of the community by recovering thevitality of its heritage. As such, it received its first sustained impetus andits systematic articulation in the efforts to give effect to the resolutions ofthe various maiden conferences of the period.The focus of this paper will be limited to exploring one aspect of thismovement, namely the potential of Islamization as a force for cultural renewaland direction. The context of the discussion will be more general taking thecontemporary cultural setting as its framework and making it clear from theoutset that the implications of Islamization have a universal bearing. The ...