Critically reviews several theories of modernization in terms of their secular bias and forecasts of a decreased role for religion in modernity, arguing that historical evidence from the Muslim world offers significant challenges to theoretical suppositions. It is demonstrated that religion has been a major factor in the modernization projects of many Muslim countries; examples from politics, education, mass communications, and culture are cited, demonstrating how they are helping to transcend former boundaries between the public and private spheres. Of particular note is the new freedom of the printed, broadcast, and electronic word, allowing Muslim religious intellectuals the ability and power to expose greater numbers of people to their (often unconventional and revolutionary) ideas. These intellectuals are described as a new “transnational elite,” bridging the gap between the traditional and the modern in their own countries while also acquiring an increasingly global presence, particularly in the international political sphere.
