The Idea
This claim holds that the project of Islamizing science may become an obstacle if it is used as a substitute for modern knowledge or as a means of reformulating it within pre-set limits. The issue is not a rejection of science, but a warning against turning it into an ideological slogan that embellishes knowledge without adding new tools to it. In that case, the name may become religious while the scientific questions remain unresolved.
Concise Formulation
Islamization of science: it may hinder the introduction of modern sciences
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This statement appears in a passage that distinguishes between benefiting from modern sciences and subjecting them to a mobilizing logic that may limit their freedom. It therefore belongs to the book’s argument, which tends to separate scientific research from comprehensive discourses of guidance. The book does not call only for excluding religion from the public sphere, but also for protecting knowledge from politicization or doctrinal justification.
Why It Matters
The importance of the claim is that it reveals Arkoun’s sensitivity to the relationship between knowledge and power. When modern sciences become merely a religious label, they may lose their capacity for questioning, testing, and renewal. This alerts the reader to the fact that intellectual reform does not proceed through slogans, but through the conditions of knowledge production itself.
Brief Evidence
The text criticizes “Islamization of science” because it may hinder the introduction of modern sciences if it is used as a substitute for them, or if knowledge is wrapped in it without renewing its tools. The issue is not a rejection of science, but a warning against turning it into an ideological slogan. In that case, the name remains religious, while the real scientific questions are delayed.
Reading Questions
- When does the Islamization of science become genuine support, and when does it become a constraint on science?
- Is the problem in the content of the sciences, or in the way they are used within public discourse?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear passage from the book’s material.