Formulating the claim
The study of Islamic consciousness also requires attention to the imaginary and myth.
Explanation
Arkoun links the understanding of Islamic consciousness to what goes beyond direct rational or textual data, because this consciousness is also shaped through imaginary images and mythic residues present in religious and cultural expression. It is therefore not enough to focus only on the visible normative structure if one wants to understand how meaning operates within the Islamic experience.
The value of this perspective lies in the fact that it opens analysis to the unspoken layers of representation, symbol, and narrative, as part of the formation of consciousness itself. For Arkoun, the study of Islamic consciousness is not limited to describing doctrines; rather, it turns to the mechanisms that shape a community’s self-understanding and its understanding of its past.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom falls within Arkoun’s broader effort to deconstruct the ways Islamic thought and self-consciousness are formed through analytical tools that go beyond traditional reading. It converges with closely related theses in the book about the need to reconsider the neglected and unsaid domains of Islamic culture, especially those connected to the imaginary and collective representations.
Limits of the claim
This claim does not mean reducing Islamic consciousness to the imaginary and myth, nor does it deny the role of text, history, or institutions. Nor does it imply that everything in Islamic consciousness is mythic; rather, it aims to draw attention to a dimension that is often neglected in analysis.