The idea
This claim says that Muslim societies still remain under the domination of a closed traditional religious reason, that is, a form of reason inclined to preserve inherited tradition rather than open it to critique. The point is not to negate religion, but to criticize a mode of thinking that refuses to question itself and resists emancipatory thought. In this sense, domination here means the domination of a way of understanding, not merely the presence of belief.
Concise formulation
Muslim societies are subject to the domination of a closed traditional religious reason
Its place in the book’s argument
This claim occupies a central place in Arkoun’s argument about the stalling of intellectual modernity. It links the persistence of a certain mode of religiosity to the difficulty of the emergence of a free critical reason. It thus becomes part of his broader thesis that the crisis of knowledge in the Islamic sphere is bound up with the balance of power between open interpretation and closed interpretation.
Why it matters
Its importance lies in the fact that it condenses Arkoun’s critique of the dominant structure of thought, not of religious content alone. Through it, we understand why he focuses on intellectual emancipation and on reopening deferred questions. It also helps the reader grasp that the conflict here is not simply between religion and reason, but between different modes of understanding religion and reason.
Brief evidence passage
The text says that Muslim societies still remain under the domination of a closed traditional religious reason. What is meant is a reason inclined to preserve inherited tradition more than to open it to critique, and one that refuses to question itself. In this way, domination becomes the domination of a way of understanding, not merely the presence of belief.
Reading questions
- What does “traditional religious reason” mean in the context of this text?
- How is this claim related to the idea of emancipatory thought?
Degree of documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.