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Islam and secularism

Secularism—that is, the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state—has been a controversial concept in Islamic political thought, owing in part to historical factors and in part to the ambiguity of the concept itself.[1] In the Muslim world, the notion has acquired strong negative connotations due to its association with removal of Islamic influences from the legal and political spheres under foreign colonial domination, as well as attempts to restrict public religious expression by some secularist nation states.[2][3] Thus, secularism has often been perceived as a foreign ideology imposed by invaders and perpetuated by post-colonial ruling elites,[4] and is frequently understood to be equivalent to irreligion or anti-religion.[5]

See also: Cultural Muslim and Islam and modernity

Especially in the late 19th to mid-20th century, some Muslim thinkers advocated secularism as a way to strengthen the Islamic world in the face of Russian, British and French colonialism. Some have advocated secularism in the sense of political order that does not impose any single interpretation of sharia (Ali Abdel Raziq and Mahmoud Mohammed Taha);[6] argued that such a political order would not/does not violate Islam (Abdullah Saeed);[7] and that combined with constitutionalism and human rights, is more consistent with Islamic history than modern visions of an Islamic state (Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im).[6] Orthodox Islamic scholars and proponents of Islamism (political Islam) strongly oppose limiting Islam to matters of personal belief, and also strongly advocate for an Islam that encompasses law, politics, economics, culture and every other aspect of the lives of its citizens.[2][8] Islamist pioneer Abul A'la Maududi claimed that the goal of secularists was not to ameliorate tensions and divisions in multi-religious societies, but to avoid the "restraints of morality and divine guidance",[9] and thus eliminate "all morality, ethics, or human decency from the controlling mechanisms of society".[10]


A number of pre-modern polities in the Islamic world demonstrated some level of separation between religious and political authority, the loss of power of the caliphate being a major reason for that, even if they did not adhere to the modern concept of a state with no official religion or religion-based laws.[11] Today, some Muslim-majority countries define themselves as or are regarded as secular. Many of them have a dual legal system in which Muslims can bring familial and financial disputes to sharia courts whose jurisdiction varies from country to country but usually includes marriage, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship.[12]

Who respond to their Lord, establish prayer, conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and donate from what We have provided for them; and who enforce justice when wronged. (42:38-39)

Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians and Sabians, (star worshippers), whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord. On them will be no fear nor shall they grieve. (2:62)

[25]

Say (O Muslims) we believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, and the tribes, (his 12 sons) and that which has been given to Musa and Isa and that which has been given to (all) the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. (2:136)

[25]

La Ikraha fid Din; there is no compulsion in Religion. (2:256)

[25]

Say (O! Prophet) to these disbelievers; I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship, and I shall not worship that which you are worshipping, nor will you worship that which I worship, To you be your religion and to me my religion. (109)

[25]

Verily proofs have come unto you from your Lord, so whosoever sees, will do so for (the good of) his own self, and whosoever blinds himself will do so to his own harm, and I (Prophet saw) am not a watcher over you. (6:104)

[25]

And as for those who take as guardians others besides Him, Allah is watcher over them, and you (O Muhammad) are not a guardian over them. (42:6)

Had Allah willed, they would not have taken others besides Him in worship. And We have not made you a watcher over them nor are you a trustee over them. (6:107)

[25]

To each among you we have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you one nation. (5:48)

[25]

According to Mansoor Alam (who dismisses "hard secularism" from consideration as a policy for Muslim governments), Quranic verses that "clearly and unambiguously" support freedom of religion by assigning to the Prophet the job of "conveying the message of Allah" to humanity rather than imposing Islam on them; and that give each person personal responsibility "for his/her own acts and deeds" are:[25]


Jakir Al Faruki and Md. Roknuzzaman Siddiky describe the Medina Covenant of Muhammad (also known as Constitution of Medina), as a "secular constitution".[26][27]

History and overview[edit]

Early history[edit]

Scholar Bernard Lewis points out that during its "first formative centuries", Christianity was separate from and often oppressed by the state, while "from the lifetime of its founder Islam was the state ... Islam was thus associated with the exercise of power from the very beginning".[28]

 [79]

Albania

 [80]

Azerbaijan

 [81]

Bosnia-Herzegovina

 [82]

Burkina Faso

 [83]

Chad

 [84][85]

Gambia

 [86]

Guinea

 [87][88]

Indonesia

 [89]

Kazakhstan

 [90]

Kosovo

 [91]

Kyrgyzstan

 [92]

Mali

 [93]

Niger

 [94]

Nigeria

 [95]

Senegal

 [96]

Sierra Leone

 [97]

Sudan

 [98]

Tajikistan

 [99]

Turkey

 [100]

Turkmenistan

 [101]

Uzbekistan

Of the 50 Muslim majority countries in the world, the following 22 countries are listed to be secular:

The Caliphate was abolished.

Religious lodges and Sufi orders were banned.

A secular civil code based on Swiss civil code was adopted to replace the previous codes based on Islamic law (, şeriat) outlawing all forms of polygamy, annulled religious marriages, granted equal rights to men and women, in matters of inheritance, marriage and divorce.

shari'a

The religious court system and institutions of religious education were abolished.

The use of religion for political purposes was banned.

A separate institution was created that dealt with the religious matters of the people.

The alphabet was changed from Arabic to Latin.

A portion of religious activity was moved to the Turkish language, including the (ezan, call to prayer) which lasted until 1950. Today, there are only sermons (khutbah, hutbe) in Turkish.

adhan

Application of sharia by country

Cultural Muslims

Democracy in the Middle East

Decree on Islamic Defenders Front

Secular education

Talal Asad

Sadik Al-Azm

Progressive British Muslims

Tolu-e-Islam

M. A. Muqtedar Khan

Irshad Manji

Khaleel Mohammed

Jaringan Islam Liberal

Al-Mawrid

Islam Yes, Islamic Party No

Islamism:

Addi, L. (2021). The Crisis of Muslim Religious Discourse: The Necessary Shift from Plato to Kant (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003227076

Abdullah, Ghassan F. (May 1999). . Internet Infidels Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 5). Internet Infidels. Retrieved 2011-04-13.

"New Secularism in the Arab World"

Sevinc, K., Hood, R. W. Jr., Coleman, T. J. III, (2017). . In Zuckerman, P., & Shook, J. R., (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press.

Secularism in Turkey