The development of Islamic perspectives in the modern era: a study of four reformers

The nature of Islamic approaches to governance has changed rapidly in the 20th century. From the 18th century, a religious leader from the Arabian Peninsula, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab, laid the foundation of a theocratic state centered on a monarchy which has come to dominate the Islamic faith in the 20th century. As a reaction to the encroachment of the West on Egyptian society, Sayyid Qutb put forth a postulate that argued the necessity of the use of jihad as means to propagate Islam. Similarly, Said Nursi reacted to the onset of the Western world into the Turkish culture, but his answer was one of non-violent struggle against such forces. From the foundation of Said Nursi, Fethullah Gülen has advocated for a system of republican democracy. The position advocated by Gülen represents a potential sea change between the historic polemic relationship between the West and Muslim societies.