He strove at reconciling the traditional and modern educational systems, thereby justifying from the point of view of Islam the introduction of modern institutions by the national state. From 1961 onwards, Gamal Abdel Nasser tried to increase the state control over ancient Islamic institutions like al-Azhar university. And the third was to recall that the church has not yet reached her final state and that she “will not be wholly herself until the paths of time have been traversed and have blossomed in the hands of God”. Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. Central to the foundation of the Living Church of God are its core beliefs rooted in traditional Christianity. Thorgeir was trusted by both the religious factions, and he was given the responsibility to decide whether the Icelanders would have converted to Christianity or would have remained faithful to the Germanic religion of their ancestors.

In most countries, the classical institution of the madrasa as a place of teaching remained largely intact until the beginning of the 20th century. The war was redemptive-it led to a place of promise, a place where slavery could be abolished and the nation made whole again. The government of Kemalist Turkey sought to distance the nation from the religious traditions and institutions of the Ottoman past. Initially giving rise to modernist reforms, up to a certain degree the state-sponsored faculties were able to retain their independence from government control. In his works, he emphasized the special importance of a reform of the traditional madrasa system, which was taken to disadvantage by the parallel establishment of the secular, state-sponsored educational system in Egypt. He referred to the Islamic concept of the collective interest or common good of the Muslim community (maṣlaḥa), to which he accorded overarching importance (al-maṣlaḥa shar) in the interest of his fellow Muslims. The concept of islāh gained special relevance for the future, as it strives at understanding and justifying all aspects of modern life from the Islamic doctrine. Thus, the teachings of the Yemeni alim Muhammad ash-Shawkani (1759-1839), which had already been discussed since the 1880s, gained greater publicity.

The Ahl-i Hadith was the first organization which printed and spread the works of Muhammad ash-Shawkani, whose writings did also influence the doctrine of the Salafi movement in the Arab Middle East and worldwide. In 1924, he published a collection of writings by some ulama of Najd: Maǧmūʿat al-ḥadiṭ an-naǧdīya. Likewise, the writings of the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328) came to attention again. However, the opening of the Salafi movement towards Wahhabism helped to reconcile the latter with the Islamic public after king Ibn Saud’s invasion of the Hijaz in 1924. The Central Arabian militias (Iḫwān) had occupied and looted the holy towns of Mecca and Medina, thereby destroying monuments which they considered pagan (shirk). Ibn Taymiyyah’s doctrine provided a link between the wahhabiyya and parts of the salafiyya movements. By the use of ijtihad, a “modern and unified system of law” must be created, and “proper religious education” must be provided. The Ottoman dynasty must give up their claim to the caliphate, and a new caliph of Quraysh descent must be elected by representatives of the ummah. In the Kemalist Republic of Turkey, traditional Ottoman religious institutions were abolished like the Ottoman Caliphate, the office of the Shaykh ul-Islam, as well as the dervish brotherhoods.

By referring back to traditional Islamic scholars, the Deobandi School aims at defending the traditional Islamic madhhab, especially the Hanafi, against criticism which arose from other Islamic schools like the Ahl-i Hadith. Famous convents like the Tekke of the Mevlevi order in Konya were secularized and turned into museums. It aims to resolve the issues faced by the Islamic community by organizing scholarly conferences with the ulama around the world in order to form public Islamic opinions based on principles of moderation, peace and harmony. Though he largely failed during his lifetime, the order has since expanded greatly. Following the example of Deoband, thousands of madrasas were founded during the late 19th century which adopted the Deobandi way of studying fundamental texts of Islam and commenting on Quran and Hadith. Ahl-i Hadith is a movement which emerged in North India in the mid-19th century. Over the last few decades, a new way of arguing for atheism has emerged.