Dissertation Research: Islam, Science, and Modernity: A Multi-Site Ethnography of the Islamization of Knowledge Debate

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The purpose of this dissertation project is to describe the post-colonial negotiations among contemporary Muslims by using science as a case. The project will contribute to both science and technology studies and the anthropology of science by improving knowledge of the practice and perception of science outside the Euro-American context. Specifically, this project will examine the Islamization of knowledge debate concerning the legitimacy and relevance of Islam and science as means to address the particular needs of the Islamic world. This debate constitutes one locus for Muslim intellectuals' re-evaluation of the meaning and relevance of `Islam,` `science,` and `modernity` in the wake of the perceived failure and collapse of pan-Arabism, the main alternative to Islamism, during and after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Based on preliminary research, the project hypothesizes that individuals' debate positions will broadly cluster into three groups which the researcher labels modernization, indigenization, and nativization; however specific intellectual orientation will be strongly interrelated with local and national contexts and personal backgrounds. Methodologies include participant-observation at institutions and conferences; semi-structured and life history interviews; and analysis of technical and popular literature.