ALTERNATIVE MODERNITY AND THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Tarik ElFalih

Abstract


This paper explores the emergence of alternative modernity in the Global South through the lens of Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman’s ethical and spiritual critique of Western modernity. Challenging the dominant narrative that equates modernity with secularization, material progress, and Western epistemology, Abdurrahman advocates a model of modernity grounded in ethical responsibility, spiritual renewal, and indigenous cultural values. The paper argues that many societies in the Global South are actively reimagining modernity not as a wholesale adoption of Western norms but as a plural, situated process shaped by historical memory, communal identity, and moral obligation. This paper suggests a translation of the Moroccan philosopher's book, which investigates the extent to which modernity offers an alternative perspective, as proposed by the Moroccan intellectual Taha Abdurrahman in his book The Spirit of Modernity: A Prolegomenon to Laying the Foundations of Islamic Modernity. The research employs a decolonial framework in translation and discourse analysis to investigate the critiques presented by Taha Abdurrahman in his book. The translation reveals the fundamental principles and ideals that the Moroccan philosopher used to establish an Islamic alternative modernity that challenges the Western perception of Muslim civilization.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


modernity, spirit, location, Taha Abdurrahman, majority, universality, critique

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdurrahman, T. Rūḥ Al-Ḥadātha: Al-Madkhal Ilā Ta’sīs Al-Ḥadātha Al-Islāmiyya [The Spirit of Modernity: A Prolegomenon to Laying the Foundations of Islamic Modernity]. Casablanca: Al-Markaz Al-Thaqāfī Al-ʿarabī, 2006




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejlll.v9i2.638

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Tarik ElFalih

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2017-2026. European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies (ISSN 2559 - 7914 / ISSN-L 2559 - 7914). All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.