Paradigms, Institutions, and Intellectual Movements

This chapter focuses on the ideological transformation of Islamic thought as a prerequisite for Muslim democracy. It examines the dynamics of internal transformation by identifying the key actors, institutions, and theoretical mechanisms involved. The central argument is that the development of a democratic political theology is possible only through an internal reform of religious thought, specifically, from traditionalism and Islamism to neomodernism. Such reform is driven not by secular reformers or political activists but by the collective effort of religious intellectuals, as explained by the Social/Intellectual Movements (SIMs) framework. In much of the Muslim world, however, traditional religious thought functions as what Gramsci calls a hegemonic ideology. Challenging this dominance and producing a counter-hegemonic thought therefore requires close attention to the role of religious intellectuals (ulama) and their institutions of learning. In this sense, the emergence of counter-hegemonic religious thought must be conceived as an institutional and epistemological project of knowledge production, transmission, and contestation.