Bilal Philips – Islam & Modernism

About this lecture

In this lecture delivered at the Peace Vision of Islam Conference in Chennai, India in 2008, Dr. Bilal Philips traces the origins of modernism in Western Christian and Jewish thought and examines how colonial powers introduced it into the Muslim world through figures like Kemal Ataturk, Muhammad Abduh, and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He argues that Islam does not need modernization — only implementation — and addresses modernist attacks on the Sunnah, Islamic law, and the status of Muslim women, drawing on scientific examples such as the hadith of the fly and the prohibition of sleeping on one's stomach to demonstrate the timeless validity of Islamic teachings.