Eurocentric narratives fuse the spatial and temporal components of modernity by identifying "modernity" with a specific era in European history. By destabilizing spatial and temporal boundaries, glocalization leads to a reconsideration of modernity. In order to explore the interplay among glocalization, space, and modernity, I suggest a thematization of modernity in terms of form and content. In terms of form, modernity is globalized and this globalization of modernity is evident in the construction of a world culture consisting of formal rules (...) and regulations. In terms of content, modernity is localized, thereby producing glocal modernities each of which is shaped by the particular historical specificity of a cultural context and the ways in which particular regions and civilizations have interacted with each other over the course of the last several centuries. To exemplify the significance of these processes, I draw upon examples from research on modernity and social space. (shrink)

Given the dichotomy of “Islam and the West” and its currency post-September 11, how do we respond to the question of a modern Islam? This is the key idea that this paper explores, by discussing what Islam represents, and what modernity entails, arguing that Islamic teachings and practices are not necessarily incompatible with modernity, and that the discourse on Islam and modernity and where the two are headed can be legitimately engaged in by Muslims given that Islamic societies are diverse (...) and subject to global influences. (shrink)