The ideas of individualism, rationalism and democracy are not foreign concepts to Islam. Islam gives responsibility to individuals for their lives and actions while promoting an egalitarian society and cooperation to prevent individual isolation. It demands its adherents reach certainty in faith through rational conviction. The Muslim community was administered democratically or with democratic principles during much of its history. So why do some claim that Muslims cannot cope with modernity?

Seeing the variance of reactions Muslims display to modernity and circumstances of the times, most analysts classify Muslims into three main categories — extremists or fundamentalists, moderates and modernists.

1. Extremists are generally depicted as very religious people who visibly express their dissatisfaction with whatever society they live in. Sometimes this reaction may happen in a violent manner. They are stereotyped by their long beards, clothing and turbans, which are seen as distinctive visual indications of their beliefs. Since they are more visible with their appearance and sometimes controversial actions, they get wide media coverage and attention even though they are a small percentage of the general Muslim population. They oppose Western life-style knowing the negative aspects and the price required to pay in society and spirituality.
2. Moderates comprise the majority of the practising Muslim population. They identify themselves as Muslims, but keep their practice to themselves and do not try to influence the society in which they live. They usually conform their lives to the Western life-style.
3. Modernists are almost always wealthy professionals or elite, who follow the Western-style secular-liberal tradition. Although they identify themselves as Muslims, very little sign of Islam is observed in their lives. They live and promote the Western life-style.

Although these categorisations help us understand the varying responses Muslims display and enable one to identify Muslims with one of these categories, I have three main concerns with this categorisation. Firstly, it does not include an emerging large portion of Muslims in the Muslim and Western countries, who are devoutly religious, socially active but sensible and do not clash with the tenets of modernity. Secondly, the categories merely attempt to describe the behaviour of Muslims not the root cause of the behaviour itself. Thirdly, the Western life-style is used as a criteria in this categorisation rather than principles of modern life.

I propose that the root cause of differences in the way Muslims behave emerge from two main factors — education and culture.

• Education: When one is educated purely in the religious sciences, irrespective of the religious faith they belong to, bigotry usually prevails. On the other hand, when one is educated solely in the material sciences, atheism holds sway. The merging of two wings of knowledge, especially in the case of Islam, produces profound wisdom in a person. This fact is alluded to in the following verse from the Qur'an, "Thus did we show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he be one of those who have faith with certainty." (6:75)
• Attitude: One's culture or the circumstances under which he or she was raised usually determines the social conditioning he or she receives. Conditioning develops attitudes, or the habits of thought, which in turn determine the resulting behaviour. There is a secondary level of conditioning one receives from his family, friends and mentors in life. Consequently, if the cultural and social setting is not favourable, the resultant attitudes and behaviours may be less then desirable. The reverse is true when the culture and the social context is favourable.

Even a cursory look at the Qur'an would enable its reader to appreciate that the Qur'an wants individuals to attain freedom of thought and behaviour by attaining wisdom and transcending their cultural and family conditioning. Those Muslims who have attained wisdom and a positive attitude through transcending their cultural and social context or enhancing such factors if they are favourable, will determine the right level of intellectual, spiritual and social response Muslims give to the modern world in which they live in.