The Question of Compatibility between the Amoral Character of Modern Institutions and the Moral Nature of Islamization Movement

Abstract

Purpose: The paper questions the assumption that the Islamization movement's current efforts to remove ḥarām elements from modern institutions and transform the human agency working there are sufficient to counter the influence of institutional structures on the movement's desired socioeconomic and spiritual impact. The paper aims to highlight the need to confront the obstacle that institutional structures may pose and to provide a possible way forward for the Islamization movement.

Methodology: The paper provides a conceptual analysis of institutional structures using the extant literature, with an exclusive focus on its capacity to constrain individuals’ moral agency. The paper may appear biased against the institutional design because the focus is primarily on highlighting the aspects of modern institutions that are being overlooked by the Muslim intelligentsia.

Findings: The paper argues that an institution that is designed specifically to constrain human agency is incompatible with the goal of a movement where the empowerment of the human agency with its full moral capacity is a fundamental prerequisite.

Originality/Value: There is negligible literature that attempts to evaluate the structural nature of modern institutions from the perspective of their capacity to facilitate the Islamization movement. The concerned Muslim intelligentsia is therefore invited to further explore how the modern institutional structure may be obstructing their goals to achieve socioeconomic justice in society.