Islam and Modernity - One Day Workshop

🗓️ Event Title

Islam & Modernity: A One-Day Intensive Introduction · Liberalism · Secularism

About This Club

This is a reading club designed to help us engage with the history of ideas that are pervasive in the modern world — and deeply relevant for our understanding of reality and Islam. Dr. Sinan will present on each topic, after which participants are drawn into group discussions based on readings provided to those who sign up. Light refreshments will be provided.

About This Intensive

Most of us as Muslims are unaware that we live in a new era of world history called Modernity. To be a "modern" human being seems to come with certain connotations — technology, cities, progress. Yet modernity as a concept extends far beyond that, ushering in ideas such as secularism, liberalism, and the nation-state that quietly shape how we think, live, and relate to Islam.

This one-day intensive compresses the first three weeks of our Islam & Modernity reading course into a single immersive day. Through presentation, readings, guided group discussions, and hands-on activities, we will unpack three of modernity's most powerful and pervasive concepts — and examine them through a critical Islamic lens.

What We'll Cover

Session 1 — Introduction: What Is Modernity? We begin by asking a deceptively simple question: what is modernity, and when did it begin? We explore how modernity is not just a time period but a set of ideas — scientism, secularism, capitalism — that emerged from a specific European context and were then globalised. We also look at how Muslim thinkers across history have responded to modernity: some embracing it, some resisting it, and some attempting to synthesise it with Islamic thought.

Session 2 — Islam & Liberalism 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness' — perhaps the most iconic phrase of liberal philosophy. But what is liberalism, where did it come from, and what has it actually produced? We examine the evolution of liberal thought from John Locke to neoliberalism, explore its relationship to individualism, meritocracy, and Islamophobia, and reflect on what Muslim engagement with — and critique of — liberalism looks like today.

Session 3 — Islam & Secularism Is secularism a neutral framework, or is it a form of power in disguise? In our final session, we zoom in on secularism as a sociological and political project: how it emerged from European history, how it was exported globally through colonialism, and how it operates unevenly across places like India, the Middle East, and the Muslim West. We'll also turn inward — asking whether and how secularism has been internalised in our own identities.

Schedule

What to Expect

• Accessible presentations designed for curious minds — no academic background required
• Curated readings sent to all registered participants in advance
• Small group discussions and guided activities
• A warm, intellectually serious community atmosphere
• Light refreshments throughout the day

Meet Your Facilitator

This intensive will be led by Dr. Mohammed Sinan Siyech, who teaches politics at King's College London (KCL) and is a senior researcher at Equi, a think tank focused on British Muslims. He previously taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the University of Edinburgh, and has written extensively on political, religious, and security issues across countries and societies. Beyond academia, he has contributed to global think tanks including the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.

Important Information

📚 Readings will be shared with registered participants ahead of the event. You are encouraged but not required to read them in advance — the sessions are designed to be accessible to all.

❌ Please note: No refunds will be given in the case of cancellations.