TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World

This article investigates the possibility of reimagining modernity in the writings of Walter Mignolo, Mohamed Abed al-Jabri and Taha Abdurrahman. The three intellectuals from the Global South challenge global dominance and critique the tutelage imposed by European modernity. Following a comparative approach, the study attempts to examine how Mignolo’s notion of decoloniality, al-Jabri’s critical reading of Arab heritage and Taha’s focus on religious morality serve as an alternative to European modernity. Additionally, through their writings, the three figures strive to conceptualize a modernity that transcends the constraints of European universality, while simultaneously shaping a modernity that is attuned to the ethical, cultural, and historical context of the Global South. The article contributes to the ongoing discussion on pluralizing modernity to overcome the European hegemony on the one hand and to modernize societies of the Global South, on the other. Ultimately, it concludes that the three writers offer a more inclusive perception of modernity through recognizing the diversity of epistemologies and cultural particularity of different contexts.