This week’s chai chat will be an exploratory venture into our modern condition. Our overarching inquiry will be: What are the metaphysical assumptions that underpin our modern society? Is Islam compatible with modernity?

We will hopefully attempt to discuss and answer some of the following questions: In a disenchanted world devoid of the sacred, is there room for tradition and religion? If “God is dead,” is the individual the new master of the universe? In a world of “managers and the managed, designers and the followers of design,” is there such thing as individuality? In a world of self-help books, pills, and consumer craze, what is the nature of happiness and is it attainable? In a world carefully delineated through spatial boundaries, what is the meaning of community? In a world wrought with wars and perverse forms of violence, is the belief in rational progress a myth?

Chai and snacks will be provided.