The Conditions of the Renaissance’ in a Postmodern World

The paper analyzes whether the ideas presented in The Conditions of the Renaissance are still relevant to establish a Nahda within the contemporary postmodern reality. A critical reading of Bennabi’s writings under the theme of civilization, and of The Conditions of the Renaissance in particular, conveys that the Muslim world can still engage in a renaissance. Bennabi was able to demonstrate to the reader the authenticity of Islam and the relevance of the principles on which it was established. Despite the waning of these principles within the Islamic civilization, these principles are still relevant and still maintain their potential to be used for a new civilizational cycle. We want to show that Bennabi designed operational modus to achieve a sustainable Nahda. Through his work, the reader realizes that a Nahda is simply to engage the path of history by fulfilling the conditions he puts forth for a renaissance: orienting culture and orienting labor and resources to ultimately produce a civilization, the end goal. In this paper we extrapolate from The Conditions of the Renaissance how to engage a Nahda in postmodern times, such as through engaging the youth, putting an end to the culture of victimhood, and restoring a sense of social mission and duty. Using The Conditions of the Renaissance, this paper shows that Bennabi’s previously stated conditions can be met in postmodern times to achieve a successful Nahda that can in turn spark a new cycle of Islamic civilization.