Secularization: The New Religion

  • Uploaded by: Vero
  • 0
  • 0
  • January 2021
  • PDF

This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA


Overview

Download & View Secularization: The New Religion as PDF for free.

More details

  • Words: 2,376
  • Pages: 11
Loading documents preview...
DHD 502

Veronika Matulova DHD 502 :: MAIS Islamic Online University Spring 2017

Islamic Online University Master of Arts in Islamic Studies

Secularization: The New Religion Research Question: Discuss the major concern behind the rise of Secularism in West. Further, discuss its status in Islam. (1800-2000 words)

Veronika Matulova

Orientalism (DHD 502) IOU MAIS Spring 2017 Attempt Count: 1

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

Islamic Online University Master of Arts in Islamic Studies

Secularization: The New Religion

Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 2 History of Secularism in the West................................................................................................... 2 Secularism of West: The Natural Choice......................................................................................... 3 Global Spread of Secularism: Era of Colonisation........................................................................... 3 Islam and Secularism: Major Concerns............................................................................................4 How many truths?........................................................................................................................4 What law?.................................................................................................................................... 4 Freedom of expression?...............................................................................................................5 Removal of religion from education?.......................................................................................... 5 Secular Thought in Muslim World: The Impact and Consequences................................................6 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................7 Bibliography............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

pᐽʅ䶸ᐞ䁀孀 䓰�䖎ʅ䶸ᐞ䁀孀 䶸Ӟ孀 pໂ΍ Alhamdulillahirabbil-'alamin was salatu was salamu 'ala ashrifil anbiya wal-mursaleen nabiyina Muhammad wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in. Ammaba'ad:

Secularization: The Rise of a New Religion

Introduction

Secularism is defined as “any movement in society directed away from otherworldliness to life on earth. In the European Middle Ages, there was a strong tendency for religious persons to despise human affairs and to meditate on God and the afterlife. As a reaction to this medieval tendency, secularism, at the time of the Renaissance, exhibited itself in the development of humanism, when people began to show more interest in human cultural achievement and the possibilities of their fulfillment in this word” (Britannica, 2008) . In other simple words, secularism separates worldly affairs from the religion. It is a reaction against the notion of a religious state, particularly a Christian one (Baker, 2009, p. 25).

History of Secularism in the West

Once Christianity climbed the leadership ladder with kings accepting Christianity (approximately from the time of its establishment as the official faith of the Roman Empire), the competition over the power began. Over the course of history, we have seen various events where kings tried to take control over the church while church seeking control over the kings (Baker, pp. 3334) . As consequences of the constant struggle, deism emerged with its idea of removing God from human affairs. This idea gave the rise to the true secularism with more peaceful and rational approach to the theo-political problem (Baker, pp. 68-69).

2|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

The period 1848-1948 was the peak of secularism and of belief in progress in the West. In all Western countries, public secular education of children and young adults was increasing as well as the popular belief and state control over education and welfare. In addition, secularism was often a component of nationalism (Horowitz, 2005).

Secularism of West: The Natural Choice

The secularism of Europe was inevitable, as people were not able to challenge the religious policies, flowing from the non-existent original religious texts, imposed on them unjustly over an extended period. Eventually, people got tired of oppression and atrocities committed in the name of religion. Therefore, since they were not able to correct the situation using original Christian scriptures and teachings, getting rid of the clergy on the state level was the next best thing; hence the idea of deism eventually giving birth to secularism. Christianity was never meant to be a state-governing power. Principles of Christianity could have been derived in order to lay the foundation of good citizenship and moral accountability; however, it does not possess the comprehensivity, capability, and accountability of being a governing policy.

Global Spread of Secularism: Era of Colonisation

Secularism began in Western Europe and quickly spread to the remaining world under the banner of “modernization” through colonization. The Colonialists saw the Muslim world as the backward, inferior, and inefficient society. Unfortunately, Muslim societies exposed to the Western politics, thought, and culture for decades, assumed that European culture had always been more progressive and modern. Hence, they have willingly allowed the secular thought to shape their minds and governing systems (Armstrong, 2000, pp. 145-146). Consequentially, the vast majority of the Muslim countries today are governed by a mixture of European-style common and civil law, and Shari’a law (BBC).

3|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

Islam and Secularism: Major Concerns How many truths?

Lorenzo Zucca in Chapter 6 of his book A Secular Europe: Law and Religion in the European Constitutional Landscape states, “Secular teaching include a diversity of religious and nonreligious teachings. The truth about is that it cannot be reduced to one single form of allegiance, but it has to be pluralistic and composite” (Zucca, 2012) . In a practical example, one plus one can equal one, two, three, four, five, etc. In contrast, Islam preaches that there is only one truth: God’s. “Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you not worship Satan - [for] indeed, he is to you a clear enemy - And that you worship [only] Me? This is a straight path” (Qur'an, 36:60-61). In a practical example, one plus one can never be anything else than two. While Islam tolerates other person’s beliefs on a private level, it does not allow the preaching of an ideology, which is in opposition to the Islamic teachings (Q&A, 2017, f. no: 26721).

What law?

Secularism denies the existence of God and consequently, it denies the existence of an absolute moral code that must be obeyed (Jeff Myers, David A. Noebel, 2015, p. 91). Understanding the Times: A Survey of Competing Worldviews quotes Fred Edwords, President of the United Coalition of Reason, “It should be obvious from the most casual observation that human beings are quite capable of setting up systems and then operating within them.” In addition, Julian Wadleigh adds, “It is not a set of precise rules but a guide that must be followed using plain common sense.” Furthermore, V. M. Tarkunde, the father of India’s civil rights movement, stated, “Moral behavior of a rudimentary type is found in the highest animals and can be traced even to lower forms of life. This fact is enough to establish that the source of morality is biological and not theological” (Jeff Myers, David A. Noebel) . Consequentially, moral code and law of the state are subject to reason and change. This means that what was only a few years ago illegal and immoral, may become legally and morally acceptable. In recent history, we can see such examples in the legalization of marijuana, same-sex marriages, adoption by same-sex

4|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

couples—all of which was prohibited by law in countries like USA or Canada only as a recently as last year (Rau, 2015). On the other hand, the moral code in Islam is part of the Revealed Law and it will never change. Whatever was immoral thousand years ago will stay immoral thousand years later. Above all, there is no law that can surpass the Revealed Law. “And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers” (Qur'an, 5:44).

Freedom of expression?

National Secular Society described the freedom of expression as “freedom from discrimination or censorship and freedom to communicate is vital in a democracy in the debate, reportage, creative media and any public arena.” They further add that beliefs and organizations do not and should not automatically command respect in a democracy. And, “Importantly, claiming offense and demanding respect cannot be acceptable when claims are made by cultures that violate basic human rights” (Society, 2012) . The European Court of Human Rights, Article 10, further states that societies must tolerate and accept the denial of their beliefs and allow propagation of other beliefs even if they are hostile to their faith (Society). In Islam, freedom of expression is not absolute. Propagation of evil, defamation of people or organizations, use of abusive or offensive language…all of these are not viewed as a person’s right to exercise freedom of expression. In Islam, the right to freedom of expression ends when the rights of others begin. “O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice” (Qur'an, 33:70). Furthermore, the Prophet ( ) commanded to the believers to either speak what is good or be silent (al-Bukhari, 8:73:158).

Removal of religion from education?

Since education is viewed as a state affair and the goal of secularism is to separate church and state, the religion is to be removed from education. While in its essence, it is beneficial for the pluralistic society, it is not compatible with societies that view religious teachings to be a necessary element of child’s education (Q&A, 2017, f. no: 20064).

5|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

Secular Thought in Muslim World: The Impact and Consequences

We may see two different opinions expressed in the Muslim world: the general masses who do not even know that secularism has affected their worldview and those, who understand secularism and yet find it to be absolutely compatible with the Islamic teachings. A general Muslim public nowadays is exposed to an obscure yet powerful form of secularism through various media. Movies, the internet, songs, talk shows… all of this has had a great impact on the thoughts of Muslims. While secularism in its definition is not promoted, its elements are seen everywhere. We are now in times, where the public proclamation of sin and transgression is simply a manifest of bravery, and freedom of thought and beliefs. Many Muslims now feel that religion and government have no right to tell them how to earn, invest, and spend their money; who to marry; who to love; what to watch; how to dress, etc. There has been the rise of immorality among the Muslim society over the recent years especially since the media make the sharing of the evil so easy. A translation of an article Why Secularism Is Compatible with the Quran and Sunnah — And an ‘Islamic State’ Is Not1 written by Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist, published by the HuffingtonPost.com, demonstrates the claim that Islam and secularism are completely compatible. Ganji analyzes three versions of secularism and concludes that the one, which is in accordance with Islam is a separation of church and state or religion from the government. He further states that Islam does not have any model for an “Islamic State.” His definition of a secular Muslims is “someone who not only believes in the separation of religion from the state but also believes that such a separation is compatible with Islam” (Ganji, n.d.).

1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akbar-ganji/secularism-islam-islamic-state_b_6426300.html

6|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

The question that arises is how can Islam be able separable from the government and its law if to govern by other than the Law of God is not permissible (Qur'an, 5:44)? His claim that Islam has no model for an “Islamic State” is further puzzling. While early Muslims in Makkah were in minority; in Madinah, they were the majority that was in need of a Code. There was no other law available to them than the Islamic law, which has governed all aspects of the society: criminal, financial, marital, family, educational, warfare, etc. How then an intelligent person claim that Islam has no model for an Islamic state? The separation of the public and private affairs—worldly affairs and the afterlife affairs—goes completely against the notion of Islam. The Islamic faith is not merely a religion of heart; it is a comprehensive set of codes, rules, and regulations that govern the public and the private affairs of the Muslims as individuals and a society. No other religion can claim that it is as complex and all-inclusive as Islam. This is what makes Islam so special

Conclusion

We need to remember that secularism did not emerge in order to modernize society. Rather, it was a consequence of the abuse of religion by the governing clergy in Western Europe. Nowadays, the abuse of original teachings, twisting of religious text in order to achieve power or personal gain, committing atrocities in the name of religion, all this is defined as religious extremism. Thus, secularism has not been a response to technological advancement and maturing society. It was a reaction to Christian religious extremism in Europe. It is an expression of public frustration with the abuse of religious text on the governing level. While it has benefited to the Western societies to some level, it cannot be taken as the universal model of just law that needs to be adopted by every society. In theory, if secularism is really about the freedom of expression and though, it would see no need to interfere and impose its ideology on those, who do not agree with it especially through the means of warfare or creating chaos in order to “liberate” and “modernize” foreign countries that rule by their beliefs.

7|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

And Allah knows best.

Bibliography

al-Bukhari, M. i. (n.d.). Sahih Bukhari. USC-MSA web (English). Retrieved from www.sunnah.com Armstrong, K. (2000). Islam: A Short History. New York: The Modern Library. Baker, H. (2009). The End of Secularism. Wheaton: Crossway Books. BBC. (n.d.). Article 7: Right to equal protection by the law. Retrieved June 29, 2017, from BBC World Service: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/casestudy_art07.sht ml Britannica, E. (2008, October 14). Encyclopaedia Britannica. (T. E. Britannica, Editor) Retrieved June 29, 2017, from Secularism: http://www.britannica.com/topic/secularism Ganji, A. (n.d.). Why Secularism Is Compatible with the Quran and Sunnah — And an ‘Islamic State’ Is Not. Retrieved June 25, 2017, from HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akbarganji/secularism-islam-islamic-state_b_6426300.html Horowitz, M. C. (2005). New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved June 29, 2017, from New Dictionary Of The History Of Ideas: https://archive.org/stream/NewDictionaryOfTheHistoryOfIdeas/New%20Dictionary%20of%20th e%20History%20of%20Ideas%202005_djvu.txt Jeff Myers, David A. Noebel. (2015). Understanding the Times: A Survey of Competing Worldviews. Manitou Springs: Summit Ministries. Q&A, I. (2017). IslamQ&A. Retrieved June 1, 2017, from Islam Questions and Answers: www.islamqa.com Qur'an. (n.d.). Qur'an. (S. International, Trans.) Rau, K. (2015, July 17). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights in Canada. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from Historica Canada: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lesbian-gaybisexual-and-transgender-rights-in-canada/ Society, N. S. (2012, January). NSS Briefing Freedom of Expression. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from National Secular Society: http://www.secularism.org.uk/uploads/freedom-of-expressionbriefing-10.pdf

8|Page

DHD 502 | Veronika Matulova

Zucca, L. (2012). A Secular Europe: Law and Religion in the European Constitutional Landscape. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9|Page

Related Documents


More Documents from "Adarsh Bansal"