Waheed Al-Ghamdi
People who are against modernization in the Kingdom base their opinion on the following idea: if we accept modernization, we will provide reasons for other members of the public to demand more modernization even if it is against Shariah. Such people are against any type of development because they believe that it will negatively affect Shariah. When they talk about this topic, they make you feel as if Islam would end or stop spreading if there was any attempt to modernize society.
To understand how these people think and analyze matters, let us ask the following question: Is Islam threatened or is the number of its followers increasing? If we look at some modern Muslim societies where the level of religiosity is not strong, we notice that people still act and do things based on their Islamic nature. In other words, Islam still influences their daily life even though the level of religiosity is not high. They act naturally and in line with Shariah because they want to, not because they are made to do so.
I do not understand why some members of society refuse attempts to modernize our society. The only reason I can think of right now is that these people want to close in on themselves and do not want other members of society to have more options. This narrow-minded view can in the long run influence peaceful coexistence and social solidarity among members of society.
What is worse, these people do not have a clear basis on which they have formed their opinion about modernization. What is permissible and impermissible in their opinion? How do they reach their opinions? We do not know the answers to these two questions. Unfortunately, the religious views of many of these people are unclear. There are many examples of things that were considered impermissible by conservatives and are now considered permissible.
The jurisprudence rule that “any act that may lead to sins must be prohibited” can mislead the general public. It is used improperly and does not take into consideration the reality on the ground. Shariah scholars are supposed to study the reality on the ground before considering whether something is permissible or impermissible and before giving their opinions.
They should not consider any attempt to modernize or reform society or the economy as a “Satanic step”. Using “Satan” as a pretext to describe an opposite opinion is no longer acceptable in society because members of the public are tired of hearing the same conservative opinions that are based on presumptions. The said jurisprudence rule can sometimes be abused by some scholars who have issued weird fatwas that become embarrassing.
If every step taken to modernize society is going to be viewed as driven by Satan and if the general public is made to believe that there is a big conspiracy against them, then the result will be disastrous. We will see more extremists committing violent acts in order to stop attempts to develop society. The current steps to modernize society should not be blown out of proportion and should not be portrayed as evil.
