The Enlightenment and Islam

The Enlightenment was an 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights, encouraging questioning traditional authority and promoting progress. Islam, a major world religion founded in the 7th century, emphasizes faith, moral conduct, and justice, with its teachings rooted in the Quran and Hadith. During the Enlightenment, Muslim thinkers engaged with these ideas, fostering debates about science, philosophy, and governance within Islamic contexts. While some saw tension between modern reason and religious beliefs, others integrated Enlightenment ideals into their cultural and intellectual traditions, leading to diverse responses across the Muslim world.