Islamic intuitionism : the case against atheistic evidentialism

Abstract

Non-belief in God has existed alongside belief since the dawn of humanity, but has manifested itself in various forms throughout. In the contemporary period, atheism no longer is promoted as a belief in the non-existence of God, but as a mere disbelief given the supposed lack of evidence for His existence. This prompts contemporary atheists to reject belief in God as irrational and its proponents as unreasonable. Since the recent polemics by atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens, many Muslims across the world have begun to become skeptical of their faith in Islam and are even abandoning it across the world. This research attempts to provide a solution to this problem by challenging contemporary atheistic thought through a systematic critique of its historical roots and dogmatic preconceptions. Through an in depth review of the relevant literature, we arrive at the understanding that contemporary atheism is driven by an ideology known as "scientism", or the belief that knowledge can only be acquired through a scientific worldview. We then trace this belief to the early 1900's when it was manifested as an ideology known as "logical positivism" and show how such a perspective was dealt with by philosophers in the past. Remarkably, there is very little difference between scientism and logical positivism, including the errors each view commits to, which are unjustified objectifications of reality and the abilities of human reason. We find that given these limitations of the atheist perspective, an alternative is necessary in understanding the rationale behind belief in God. Our solution is a reappraisal of a traditional Islamic argument for belief in God through intuition, which we have come to call "Islamic Intuitionism".