Islamic Modernist

Ottoman Tanzimat

Islamic modernist discourse emerged as an intellectual movement in the second quarter of nineteenth century; during an era of wide-ranging reforms initiated across the Ottoman Empire known as the Tanzimat (1839–1876 C.E). The movement sought to harmonise classical Islamic theological concepts with liberalconstitutional ideas and advocated the reformulation of religious values in light of drastic social, political and technological changes. Intellectuals like Namık Kemal (1840–1888 C.E.) called for popular sovereignty and "natural rights" of citizens. Major scholarly figures of this movement included the Grand Imam of al-AzharHassan al-Attar (d. 1835), Ottoman VizierMehmed Emin Âli Pasha (d. 1871), South Asian philosopher Sayyid Ahmad Khan (d. 1898), and Jamal al-Din Afghani (d. 1897). Inspired by their understanding of classical Islamic thought, these rationalist scholars regarded Islam as a religion compatible with Western philosophy and modern science.