A New Academic Paradigm is Needed for Scholarship on Islamdom

The complex civilization of Islamdom is systematically misunderstood both internally and externally. Academic attempts at understanding the civilization of Islamdom has typically added to the confusion. Both Orientalism and Postcolonialism are distinctly deficient in misunderstanding the dynamically evolving civilization of Islamdom. The critique of Orientalism is well-known but the core of the critique is that Orientalism views Islamdom as unchanging. Postcolonialism however, sweeps the problems under the carpet and prevents critique of societies in Islamdom while engaging in apologism for the colonial ideology of Arabism and the imperialist totalitarian ideology of Islamism. Postcolonialism addresses only bigotry, colonialism and imperialism by Christendom but does not address the problem of bigotry, colonialism and imperialism by Islamdom. In short is postcolonialism based on reverse racism of low expectations and double standards despite claiming to be anti-racist and espousing universalism. There is distinctly a need for a new paradigm in academia beyond past civilizational conflict as regards the civilization of Islamdom. Islamdom like any civilization has both drawbacks and strengths. What is needed is for critical theory to critically study bigotry, colonialism and imperialism by Islamdom in the same critical way that Postcolonialism critically studies bigotry, colonialism and imperialism by Christendom. Islamdom must be critiqued from the perspectives of its victims just as Christendom is.