为什么穆斯林世界“落后”？这是一个长久以来不断被提出的问题。

The perennial question: Why does the Muslim world “lag behind”?

"长期以来的标准答案是：都是因为伊斯兰教！我们本以为这种分析只会出自东方学家、新保守主义者，以及巴拉克·奥巴马之流。然而遗憾的是，也有一些穆斯林持同样的看法。自殖民时期伊始，一些厌弃自身信仰的穆斯林便与其殖民统治者达成共识：伊斯兰教就是问题所在，唯一的出路是抛弃伊斯兰教。"

The perennial answer: Because of Islam! We expect this kind of analysis from the likes of Orientalists, neoconservatives, and Barack Obama. But unfortunately, some Muslims also share such sentiments. From the beginning of the colonial period, self-hating Muslims have agreed with their colonial masters that Islam is the problem and the only way forward is to shed Islam.

当然,那些自我憎恨的穆斯林不会直接说“伊斯兰就是问题所在”。他们更多会说这样的话:“伊斯兰需要改革”,或者“我们需要重新审视古典教法学,并在必要时运用新的伊智提哈德”,又或者“古典学术中存在厌女的成分”。这是穆斯林现代主义者不那么明显的做法,而他们往往本身就受过传统的学术训练,也穿戴着传统学者的一切外在标志。并非所有现代主义者都穿西装打领带。

Of course, the self-hating Muslims don’t come out and say, “Islam is the problem,” literally. They will, instead, say things like, “Islam needs to reform,” or, “We need to revisit classical fiqh and apply new ijtihad as needed,” or, “Classical scholarship had misogynistic elements.” This is the not-so-subtle approach of Muslim modernists, who oftentimes will be classically trained themselves and will wear all the trappings of traditional scholars. Not all modernists wear suits and ties.